


Murder house

by Coughoutflesh



Series: American horror story [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 06:58:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20944226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coughoutflesh/pseuds/Coughoutflesh
Summary: Therapist Chris Joseph and wife Kelly Joseph along side their son Tyler, move across the country to Los Angeles California to escape their troubles but they don't know they're moving into the natorious "Murder House"





	Murder house

{{Un-edited}}

-1978-

A little girl stoof in front of an abandoned house,staring at it. Her small body flinched as glass shattered, she turned back seeing two boys with very similar features, twins. They were dragging bats behind them pushing each other.

"Hey, Troy. You're a dork." The twin in the striped green shirt said as he shoved his brother while they both entered the front gates of the abandoned home.

"Oh, shut up." Troy said as he shoved his brother back making the other laugh a bit "Hey, freak." Troy said to the little girl who stared at them as they made their way to the front door.

"Excuse me. You are going to die in there." The girl whispered loud enough for them to hear, she stood underneath a tree. 

"Shut your mouth or we're gonna kick your ass. We got bats." Bryan threatened as he swung the bat back and forth lightly before opening the door to go inside the house.

"I hate trees." Troy said as he swatted at some over grown branches that were in his way before entering the house after his brother.

"You're gonna regret it. You're gonna regret it. You're gonna regret it." The little girl repeated as she watched the boys enter the house.

The twins inspected the inside of the house looking at each other with a small grin before they started smashing everything made of glass near by. Soon separating from one another with one going upstairs and the other going into a different room, Bryan made his way downstairs smashing one last wall light before looking down the stairs noticing a dead animal of some sort.

"Troy!" Bryan called out for his brother as he maked his way down the stairs with the dead animal at his feet before his brother enterd the room.

"Awesome." Troy said inspecting the animal with a smirk, both of the boys looked to their left once they heared a slight creak watching as a door opened slightly "Go." Troy nudged his brother with his elbow.

"You go, shithead." Bryan said shoving his brother back. Troy went first,opening the door leading to the basement as they walked down the creaky stairs.

"Check it out." Troy said turning on his flashlight pointing it towards a shelf against the wall full of jars, both the twins got closer to the shelf spectating what was inside the jars soon feeling awfully disgusted finding out the jars contained human baby limbs and heads along with other dead animals, the troy picked up a jar containing a baby head smashing it against the floor startling the other brother "stinks in here." troy said as he walked along side his brother, exploring the dark basement.

"It stinks like shit." Bryan said, flashing his light around corners.

"Remember last summer when we got the raccoon stuck in our chimney? That's what it smells like." Troy said not noticing the small pitter patter of feet in the background while he was talking, neither did the other twin

"Let's go find it." Troy said.

"No, it smells bad. I'm getting out of here." Bryan said as he made his way upstairs soon stopping once he heard his brother's footsteps suddenly stop as well "Troy? Troy?" Bryan called out soon worried as he made his way back downstairs hearing a metal can roll across the floor "Who's down there?" He asked flashing his light in the room his brother entered "Cut it out, Troy. Cut it out." He said as he turned to his left to see his brother covered in blood with a shard of glass pierced in his throat, Troy was having trouble breathing as he looked up at his brother with fear in his eyes as he gurgled blood out of both his mouth and the slash on his neck, Bryan started to panic as he heard footsteps on his right, he quickly shined his light towards the noise soon being attacked.

-Today-

"So are your periods regular again?" The gynecologist asked Kelly as she sat on the examination table.

"Every other month. Not that I'm really complaining after all that blood. Chris hates blood." Kelly said.

"You having issues with arousal?" The doctor asked taking notes on a clipboard.

"Not when I'm by myself." Kelly giggling .

"Hmm. You can lie back." The doctor said as he put his clipboard out and grabbed some tools Kelly sat back and propped her legs up on some medal plates attached to the table she laid at "Well, I've recently had some success with women your age using bioidentical treatments and hormones." The doctor said as he started his examination.

"For what?" Kelly asked looking to her right staring at a sink.

"Well, it's sort of a preemptive strike. You see, your body is like a house. You can fix the tiles in the bathroom and the kitchen but if the foundation is decaying, well, you're wasting your time." The doctor leaned back and put the tools back on thr tray on his right before taking his gloves off.

"What are the side effects?" Kelly asked sitting up "Well, the B. H. R. T. 's are great for your skin, your organs. Most of the women I give these to tell me they make them feel 10 years younger." The doctor said grabbing his clipboard again.

"I don't know. I don't even let my family drink out of plastic bottles. Taking a bunch of hormones when I don't even know what the side effects are?"Kelly said sighing a bit "I'd just-" Kelly continued but was soon cut off by the doctor.

"Feel and look 10 years younger." The doctor reminded her.

"I don't need hormones, Doctor. I'm just trying to get control of my body again after what happened." Kelly said feeling a slight pain in her chest as she reminds herself of that incident.

"And I'm offering you something to help you get that back." The doctor said as he started writing a prescription for the hormones.

"I'm not a house." She whispered staring at the doctor.

"Kelly, what are you so afraid of?" The doctor asked handing her the prescription which she very carefully took into her hands.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

As Kelly entered the house she made her way into the kitchen setting some groceries down on the counter she got after leaving the gynecologist. She shook some snow off of her soon stopping once she heared a feminine groan, she quickly and quietly took her cell phone out and dialed the police.

"911." The operater said 

" I have an intruder in my house." Kelly whispered.

"You sure it's not a member of your family?" The operator asked. 

"No. Nobody is home."

"What's the address?" 

"35 Drumlin Road."

"We're sending a patrol car."

"Please hurry. Please" Kelly placed her phone down on the counter before grabbing the nearest knife, she slowly made her way upstairs, turning left heading towards the noises which grew louder as she reached her bedroom door, she slowly opened it before slowly seeing her world crash Infront of her, she slowly started walking downstairs with knife still in hand.

"Oh, my God. Oh, Kells, no. No. No- Kells." Chris yelled at his wife as he ran out of the room naked grabbing her shoulder "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No. No- Ah!" Chris yelled as Kelly quickly spun around flinging the knife, cutting his left bicep.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

As the Joseph's drove forward they finally reached a sign saying 'Welcome To Los Angel's'

"The light is different out here. It's softer." Kelly said looking around the freeway putting her sunglasses on her head.

"It's called smog." Tyler said from the back seat.

"You should be excited, Kells." Chris chimed to his wife who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat as he looked in the rearview mirror back at their son "You can stop sneaking cigarettes and just start taking deep breaths." Chris joked making Tyler smile slightly as he soon took his own sunglasses off placing them in his hoodies pocket.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Tyler said crossing his arms.

"We're almost there." Chris said gripping the wheel tighter.

"I need to go." Tyler whined.

"Ty, it's a freeway. Really. Where do you want me to pull over? Maybe the Honda next to us has a bathroom or something." Chris pointed to the white car next to them.

"Bet if baby substitute had to shit, you'd find somewhere." Tyler said looking at their small Pomeranian dog who was seated in a carrier bag on his right.

"Really, Tyler? I hate that word unless I'm saying it." Kelly sighed making Tyler smirk.

"You know, I'm really glad we named you Tyler instead of our second choice." Chris said.

"Which was?" Tyler asked raising and eyebrow.

"Sunshine. It's funny. Come on. You gotta admit it's funny." Chris said smiling as Kelly giggled and Tyler stared at his dad letting out a mocking laugh, Chris chuckled before taking his wife's hand into his own. Kelly pulled her hand away making the smile on both his and her face fade as they drove in awkward silence.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

" I love it. Don't you love it, hon?" Chris said looking around the property as the stood on the front porch while Kelly nodded as she hugged their dog.

"I mean, it looks even better than it did online." Kelly said stroking the small dogs head.

"Yeah, it's- It's interesting." Chris said as he looked at Tyler.

"Great. So we're the Addams Family now." Tyler sighed as he looked up at the house.

"Hey! Crabby pants! Come here." Chris motioned to Tyler to join them at the porch sticking his arm out.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asked his dad as he walked closer to them before being pulled into a side hug by his dad.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Chris asked his son who he was smothering.

"Hmm." Tyler hummed as his dad finally let go of him and knocked on the front door.

"Welcome." A lady, the salesperson greeted them with a smile as she moved aside to let the family come inside, closing the door behind them. "It's a classic L. A. Victorian built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars at the time. It's just fabulous. These are real Tiffany fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners really loved this place like a child. They restored everything." The lady said as they made their way around the house.

"Gay?" Kelly asked as she continued to pet her dog, playing with her fur ad she looked around.

"What do you think?" The saleslady said making their way to the kitchen.

"Wow." Kelly awed as she put the Pomeranian down letting it run off to an unknown part of the house as she looked around.

"Do you cook?" The lady asked Kelly.

"Kells is a great cook. I got her cooking lessons a few years ago and she ended up teaching the teacher a few things. Cooking lessons." Chris said with a small smile answering for his clearly distracted wife.

"Romantic. Aren't you a psychologist?" The saleslady asked Chris.

"Psychiatrist. You said something on the phone about there being a study that I could use as a home office? I'm planning on seeing patients here so I can spend more time with the family." Chris said.

"How refreshing." The lady smiled at him. the dog started barking.

"Tyler, honey, would you go see where Hallie went? Thank you." Kelly asked her son before going back to looking around the kitchen.

Tyler huffed and followed the dogs barking finding her barking at a door "What are you yapping at?" Tyler asked the dog as he looked at the door making his way towards it shooing the dog away before struggling to open the door. finally opening it, he looked at the flights of stairs figuring it lead to the basement as he slowly walked downstairs and stopped halfway looking around basement before getting bored and making his way back upstairs shutting the door and picking up the dog, he made his way to where his parents and saleslady were.

"When I saw the pictures of this room online I thought maybe you could use it as your music room." Chris said to his wife as they entered another room.

"Are you a musician?" The lady asked Kelly.

"I was. Cellist." She answered examining the room.

"Very good one, in fact." Chris said.

"Why did you quit?" The lady asked.

"This wallpaper is peeling over here. Looks like maybe there's a mural underneath it." Kelly said as she peeled back some old floral wallpaper ignoring the lady's question.

"The last owners probably covered it up. They were modernists. Speaking of the last owners full disclosure requires that I tell you about what happened to them." The lady said making her smile slightly fade.

"Oh, God. They didn't die in here or anything, did they?" Kelly joked.

"Yes, actually. Both of them. Murder-suicide. I sold them the house too. They were just the sweetest couple. You never know, I guess." The lady said making Kelly shut down a bit "That explains why it's half the price of every other house in the neighborhood, I guess. I do have a very nice mid-century ranch, but it's in the Valley and you're going to get a third of the house for twice the price." The sales lady said.

"Great." Chris huffed "Where'd it happen?" Tyler asked a bit too excited as he stroked the dogs fur.

"The basement." The lady answered slightly startled at the teens excitement.

"We'll take it." Tyler smirked as he continued to pet the dog.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Come on, baby. Let's go to bed. Leave that for the morning." Chris said to his wife who was had two full body mirrors in both of her hands as he walked into their new bedroom.

"I'm a little bit worried about Tyler. You know? These kids here are very different. I don't know if he can handle another year not fitting in." Kelly sighed as she put the mirrors down and turned to face Chris who sat on the left side of the bed right Infront of her.

"You mean you can't?" Chris said smirking.

"I can't believe this place doesn't freak you out a little because of what happened here." Kelly said sighing once again.

"My repulsion is tempered by the fact that this house is worth four times what we paid for it. So, let's not think about it." Chris said.

"This is your professional advice, Doctor? Just denial?" Kelly asked as she placed a small bottle of oil on the night stand next to their bed.

"Come on. Let me give you a little love." Chris said taking the bottle of oil and squirting some on his hand before rubbing them together to warm the oil up "Moving here, buying this house was the exact right thing to do for us and our family. It's a good thing. And we deserve some good after all the shit we've been through." Chris whispered as he took Kelly's right arm and rubbed the oil up and down massaging her arm a bit before moving to her left as his hand went lower to her hand making his thumb graze over her wedding ring making her quickly pull her hand away and walk towards the room entrance.

"I-I've got some stuff I want to unpack down in the kitchen. I appreciate that you're trying. I'm trying too. Okay. It's just gonna take some time." Kelly said to Chris before finally leaving to the kitchen.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Tyler made his way to his class, he took a drag out of a cigarette he lit a minute ago which was almost gone as he continued walking as other students stared at him

"So I let him." A boy said to his two friends, one being shortest wearing a fedora the other being slightly taller then both with light brown hair, quickly catching a whiff of the toxic smoke.

"Do coke off your nipples?" One of his friends asked.

"They were numb for, like, two days." The boy said as he stared at Tyler and slowly made his way towards him "Hey! Student council passed a rule against smoking in public spaces." The boy said as he stepped Infront of Tyler making Tyler jump a bit 

"Secondhand smoke kills." Another boy said as he stood next to the boy with an oddly large forehead.

"I'm new. I didn't know." Tyler said quietly as he dropped the cigarette about to stomp on it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? People sit here. They eat here." The boy with the large forehead said as he picked the almost gone cigarette off the floor.

"You don't know me. Why are you doing this?" Tyler said glaring at the boys.

"Brendon's grandmother died of lung cancer. he takes this stuff pretty seriously." The shortest boy said.

"Eat it. Eat it or I'm gonna kick the shit out of you" brendon said.

"No." Tyler said backing up a bit scrunching his face up in disgust

"Come on, Brendon. That's enough."

"No, no, no. I want to see him eat it. Yes! Eat it!" Brendon shouted grabbing Tyler's neck pulling the cigarette closer to his mouth as he struggled to get away.

"Brendon, seriously, he's, like, 12." The shortest friend said before Tyler finally spat in his face making Brendon quickly release him and wipe his face.

"You are dead! You are dead!" Brendon yelled as he furiously wiped his cheek making Tyler look back smiling as he grabbed his red beanie before it fell off his head and continued running.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly scraped at the wallpaper in the living room and threw the pieces in a trash can near her.

"You're gonna die in here." A female voice said startling Kelly making her Yelp a bit as she turned around quickly facing a girl across the room.

"Who are you? What are you doing? What are you doing here?" Kelly asked the girl who stared at her.

"Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. I put on Dora the Explorer for you, so you would sit and watch it." Another female voice was heard as a much older women stepped in going towards the other girl.

"It was Go, Diego, Go. I don't like it." The girl whined a bit.

"Oh, brown cartoon characters. You can't tell the difference." The older women said.

"Excuse me." Kelly said as she had enough watching these two strangers argue in her house 

"Hi. Hi. I'm Laura Dun , your neighbor from next door and this is my girl, Abigail." The lady greeted as she wrapped her arm around Abigail's shoulders.

"Hello." Abigail greeted.

"Go home, Abby. Now." Laura said as she lightly pushed Abigail to the front door "That girl is a monster. I love her, and I'm a good Christian but Jesus H. Christ if they'd invented some of those tests a few years ago, I would have-" Laura rambled before being cut off by a still slightly scared Kelly.

"How did you get into my house?" Kelly asked.

"You left your back door open. Although I have to tell you, Abby will always find a way in. She has a bug up her ass about this house. Always has." Laura said as she placed the box that she had on her hand down as she looked at the fine china on display in the living room "You have the loveliest things." Laura said as she continued looking around.

"Thank you." Kelly said as she placed her scraper tool down on a small table.

"Have you got a dog?" Laura asked as she turned to face Kelly.

"I-I do have a dog, yes." Kelly stuttered nervously as Laura walked closer to her.

"I run a little kennel out of my house. Doggy day care kind of a thing and How nice. Well, I prefer purebreds. I adore the beauty of a long line but there's always room in my home for mongrels." She said as she was now face to face with Kelly "Oh. Oh, my. Look at those earrings. Are those real diamonds? Not that home-shopping shit" Laura asked as she looked at the diamond studs on Kelly's ears.

"Yea" Kelly replied.

"I used to have diamonds like that. Different pair for every day of the week." Laura said "Did your husband give them to you?" Laura asked.

"He did." Kelly smiled a bit nervously.

"Mm-hmm. They always do when you're young and pretty." Laura said as she made her way back to looking around.

"Are you Southern?" Kelly asked as she noticed the faint accent in the lady's voice when she spoke.

"Proud Virginian. The Old Dominion, born and bred. Thank you for noticing. I came out here to be a movie star. Did the screen tests and everything. But nudity was the big deal then. The morals were just beginning to collapse and I wasn't about to have my green pasture flashed 70 feet high for every man, woman and child to see. So I took that little butterfly of a dream and put it in a jar on the shelf. And, uh, soon after came the mongoloid and, of course, I couldn't work after that." Laura said as she sat on a recliner facing Kelly.

"It has been so great to meet you. I just, you know- I wasn't prepared for guests at all." Kelly stuttered.

"I'm gone." Laura said as she stood up and made her way to the front door with Kelly following behind her "Oh, I brought you this. You know, a little, um, housewarming." Laura said as she grabbed the box she brought handing it to Kelly.

"Thank you." Kelly said smiling a bit looking down at the box.

"Addy wanted to bake you a pie but she tends to spit in the cooking so I thought this would be better. Help get rid of some of that bad juju."Laura said as she looked up at Kelly and smiled "I don't remember your name." 

"Right, no. I never got a chance to tell you my name. My name is Kelly Joseph." Kelly said.

"Anyway, relax and enjoy. Let me know if you need any help with that pup. Will do. I'm glad you're getting rid of that wallpaper. I thought those people were supposed to be stylish." Laura said as she continued to smile at Kelly as she opened the box slightly confused on what it was "It's sage for cleansing the spirits in the house. Too many bad memories in here." Laura said as she finally made her way out the house.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly took the lighter and lit the sage holding the lighter next to it slowly burning it putting the lighter down once she saw smoke from the sage and waved it around the hall soon stopping as she looked up seeing a small attic door, she reached up and opened it climbing the ladder leading up to the attic and studied the dark area, she finally made it all the way in and reached out grabbing onto what seemed to be a light switch pulling it down and light soon filling the room, Kelly looked up and screamed as she saw a leather suit suspended up from the ceiling.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Chris asked Kelly as he made his way up the attic stairs and looked up "Oh. I guess these guys were into the kinky stuff, huh?" Chris said chuckling a bit "Should I try it on?" Chris asked his wife smiling.

"That's not funny." Kelly said smiling as well.

"I think I'd look good in that." Chris said.

"What happened?" Tyler asked as he made his way up the ladder "Holy shit." Tyler whispered smiling as he saw the leather suit.

"Let's get rid of it." Kelly said.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs. Come on. Watch the stairs." Chris said pushing the memorized Tyler down the ladder.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"So, Josh, these fantasies started two years ago?" Chris asked Josh one of his newer patients as he sat across from the teen who sat crisscross on a couch.

"Two years ago. It's always the same. It starts the same way." Josh said in a low voice as he picked at the loose string on his ripped jeans looking around the office.

"How? Tell me." Chris said as he took out a notepad and a pen.

"I prepare for the noble war. I'm calm. I know the secret. I know what's coming, and I know no one can stop me, including myself." Josh said smiling a bit.

"Do you target people who have been mean to you or unkind?" Chris asked as he started blotting down this information on the notepad.

"I kill people I like. Some of them beg for their life. I don't feel sad. I don't feel anything. It's a filthy world we live in. It's a filthy, goddamn, helpless world. And, honestly, I feel like I'm helping to take them away from the shit and the piss and the vomit that run in the streets. I'm helping to take them somewhere clean and kind. There's something about all that blood, man. I drown in it. The Indians believed that blood holds all the bad spirits. Once a month in ceremonies, they would cut themselves to let the spirits go free. There's something smart about that. Very smart. I like that." Josh said as he looked at Chris who stared at Josh with slight amusement "You think I'm crazy?" Josh asked making his smile fade slightly.

"No. I think you're creative, and I think you have a lot of pain you're not dealing with." Chris said.

"My mother's probably worried about me, right?" Josh asked as he looked down at his crossed legs.

"I'm sure she is." Chris said.

"She's a cocksucker. I mean, literally a cocksucker. She used to suck the guy off next door all the time. My dad found out, and he left. He left me alone with a cocksucker. Can you imagine? How sick is that?" Josh said, his small smile soon returning.

"I've heard a lot worse." Chris said .

"Cool. Can you tell me some? I like stories." Josh asked sitting up a bit more.

"No. I can't." Chris said.

"The world is a filthy place. It's a filthy, goddamn, horror show. There's so much pain, you know? There's so much." Josh said as he leaned back as he watched Chris continue taking notes.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"You're doing it wrong." Josh said leaning against the bathroom door frame making Tyler jump as he looked up at the mirror looking at Josh in slight shock as he put the blade down the blood soaked sink from cutting his left wrist "If you're trying to kill yourself, cut vertically. They can't stitch that up." Josh said as he bit his lip looking at the smaller boy up and down smiling a bit liking what he saw very much.

"How'd you get in here?" Tyler asked as he held his wrist to prevent blood from going on the tiled floor.

"If you're trying to kill yourself, you might also try locking the door." Josh said finally closing the bathroom door as he left leaving a shocked Tyler staring at the mirror.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly took another white sheet out of the basket and hung it putting clips on the end to keep it from flying away, Kelly quickly turned around once she heard soft foot steps from behind her coming face to face with an older red headed women "May I help you?" Kelly asked.

"I'm Moira O'Hara. I'm the housekeeper." The lady said smiling sweetly at Kelly

"Oh. I didn't know the place came with a housekeeper." Kelly said smiling back.

"Why are you hanging your sheets? Perfectly good electric dryer inside." Moira said as she looked behind at all the sheets hung up.

"I don't like all those chemicals in the fabric softener so I just like to do it naturally." Kelly said looking back down at the basket with more sheets in it.

"I work Monday through Thursday. Thanksgiving on, Christmas off." Moira said bluntly "That was the deal with the last fellows." She said breaking the silence that lasted only a few seconds.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not sure that we're gonna need a housekeeper." Kelly said scratching the back of her neck .

"What have you been using to clean the floorboards?" Moira asked .

"Murphy's Oil Soap." Kelly said.

"Oh, no. White vinegar. Oil soap kills the wood." Moira said shaking her head.

"I like that better. It's more natural." Kelly said.

"Have you ever owned a house this old before?" Moira asked.

"No." Kelly said.

"It has a personality, feelings. Mistreat it and you'll regret it. May I come in? My cab's left, and I'd like to call another." Moira said.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"So you worked for the previous owners?" Kelly asked as she poured some tea in a cup for Moira handing the cup to the lady before pouring some for herself. They made it back inside the house. as she sat across from Moira at the kitchen island.

"I've been the housekeeper here for years. They come, they go. I stay. They were both nice boys, the ones before you. I found the bodies." Moira said taking the cup

"What happened? I mean, I hate to gossip." Kelly asked in a whisper.

"They fought a lot. Money, I think. But who can know when something so horrible happens? Sometimes people just go mad. I cleaned the mess. You'd never know." Moira said as she put some sugar into her tea and stirred it.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Kelly asked still whispering.

"Do you ever get tired of cleaning up other people's messes?" Kelly asked as she as well stirred her tea.

"We're women. It's what we do. I just get paid for it." Moira said as she took a sip of her tea, after a minute Chris walks in with a banana in hand.

"Oh, hey, this is my husband, Chris. Chris, this is Moira O'Hara. She was the housekeeper for the previous owner." Kelly said.

"Nice to meet you." Chris smiled but his smile soon dropped at the sight of the maid, he didn't see an old lady like Kelly did he say a very young sexy woman who smirked at Chris.

'That's my cab." She said in a low slightly seductive voice "I'll use the lavatory first if you don't mind." She asked Kelly looking like an old lady again.

"Sure." Kelly said as Moira walked off swaying her hips making Chris stair at her plump ass in that maid outfit. 

"What do you think?" Kelly asked Chris.

"Wait, you-you- you want to hire her?" He stuttered.

"Yeah. I mean, she's a little kooky, but she seems trustworthy. She knows the house really well, and I feel like I could just use the help." Kelly said turning to see Moira again "So, can you start tomorrow?" She asked.

"Thursday's better, but I'll make it work." Moira said as she put her coat on "Okay. And you know, Moira, you don't have to wear the housekeeper's uniform. You can just wear your own clothes." Kelly said as she noticed her maids outfit.

"I don't like cleaning people's houses in my own clothes." Moira said looking at Chris before walking away, Chris stared at his wife slightly shocked.

"What?" Kelly asked leaning against the island Infront of Chris.

"Nothing. Just- You just always surprise me." Chris said as he kissed his wife passionately needing something to forget the maid. making out with his wife worked as he focused on her only as he made his way down to her neck and started sucking on it, Kelly put her hands on Chris's chest and pushed him away "You're gonna have to forgive me one day." Chris said as he rested his forehead against Kelly's

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"You mind if I tape this?" Chris asked Josh as he grabbed a tape recorder and sat in his chair across Josh.

"No." Josh simply responded as he laid across the couch playing with his fingers.

"You taking your medications?" Chris asked.

"Yes." Josh responded still playing with his hands.

"Any side effects?" Chris asked.

"I was taking them at night, but they kept me up." Josh said looking up at the ceiling.

"What'd you do?" Chris asked.

"Started taking them in the morning." Josh said as he looked at Chris now 

"Light sensitivity is pretty common." Chris said.

"Maybe. Yeah, I think so." Josh smiled a bit 

"When I was in medical school, they brought in this C. I. A. interrogator to help us better identify who was lying. This guy was like 6'5, crew cut. He must have been one hell of an interrogator because I'll tell you somethin'- I'd be terrified to lie to him." Chris said smiling as well.

"You think I'm lying to you?" Josh asked as he stood up from laying on the couch.

"Light sensitivity isn't a side effect of Lexapro, Josh." Chris said.

"So you lied to me." Josh said as he walked to the rocking chair in the room and sat on it rocking back and forth a bit.

"What is important, if you're telling the truth about doing these things to your classmates if you are actually a danger to society the law says that I have to report you to the police." Chris said as he stood up and sat on the arm of a chair Infront of Josh.

"Did you call them?" Josh asked.

"Not yet. I've treated psychotics before and people with the right combination of chemical imbalance and psychological damage that can't be reached." Chris said.

"You think that's me? You think I can't get better?" Josh asked as he stopped rocking on the chair.

"You? Are you kidding me? You're hopeless." Chris said before bursting into laughter with Josh following along

"Everybody can get better, Josh. Everybody. I just think you're scared. Of what, I'm not sure yet. Maybe rejection, certainly because of what your father did to you." Chris said smiling at the boy.

"I was afraid my big dick wouldn't work." Josh finally admitted.

"What?" Chris asked "Yeah, that's why I didn't take the meds. I was afraid my dick wouldn't work. Because I met someone." Josh said. Looking behind Chris seeing tyler staring at them from the door

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"This one I did after my dad left. I was 10, I think." Josh said as he rolled up his sleeve showing Tyler the scars on his wrist.

"Last week, first day at my new school. Sucks." Tyler said showing some of his as well.

"Westfield, right? The worst. I got thrown out of there." Josh said as he stood up from his place Infront of Tyler on the floor in Tyler's bedroom and made his way to the built in chalk board.

"I hate it here. I hate everyone. All their bougie designer bullshit. East Coast was much cooler. I mean, at least we had weather." Tyler said as he stared at Josh.

"I love it when the leaves change." Josh said looking for something to write with.

"Yeah, me too." Tyler said smiling a bit.

"Why'd you move here?" Josh asked as he finally found some chalk and started writing the words TAINT on the board.

"My dad had an affair. My mom literally caught him in the act." Tyler said looking at his lap.

"That's horrible. If you love someone, you should never hurt them. Never." Josh said as he returned to his spot across from Tyler on the floor.

"Right? I know. And the worst part is that six months earlier my mom had, like, this brutal miscarriage. The baby was seven months old, and we had to have this macabre funeral. Have you ever seen a baby coffin?" Tyler said as he looked up to see Josh staring intensely at him, Tyler felt his cheeks flush and looked down "Why are you seeing my dad?" Tyler asked breaking the silence.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. You're smarter than that." Josh said as he continued staring at Tyler, Tyler got up and made his way to his mp3 player "Wanna listen to Morrisey? He's cool, and he's pissy, and he hates everyone and everything." He said

"Got any Kurt Cobain on that thing?" Josh asked smiling.

"What are you doing in here?" Chris asked barging into Tyler's room.

"Just listening to music, Dad." Tyler said as he sat on his bed.

"You need to leave, Josh. You shouldn't be in here. I think you know that. Please." Chris said sternly, Josh stood up and made his way to the door stopping next to Chris.

"What's that thing you think I'm afraid of? Fear of rejection?" Josh asked coldly as he finally left 

"Stay away from him." Chris said to Tyler 

"Dad, nothing-"

"You heard me!" Chris said making Tyler shut up.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hey, babe, you seen my razor blades?" Chris called out to his wife as he exits the bathroom shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Your family is in danger." A whisper said making Chris jump a bit and look outside the window seeing a man, he quickly put on a robe and ran outside going to confront that man but once he was out he was already gone.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly huffed as she put down her huge bag full of groceries on the kitchen island and started to unpack the things getting startled once she heard a giggle, she looked around jumping once she saw her fridge wide open, she followed the giggle to the living room surprised to see it was Abigail "What are you doing?" Kelly asked shocked as Abigail didn't answer and only continued to giggle "Why are you in my house? I want you to stay out of my house. Do you understand?" Kelly said to Abigail who was paying attention to Hallie the dog.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Can I smoke in here?" Laura asked taking a cigarette out of her purse plus a lighter.

"No. Abigail, answer me please." Kelly said still trying to get Abby to communicate.

"Can I pet your dog?" Abigail asked looking at Kelly for a bit before looking back at the now barking dog.

"No. Abigail, I want you to stay out of the house. I want you to stop coming in and opening things up and telling me I'm gonna die." Kelly said

"She said that?" Chris asked as he stood next to Kelly on the other side of the island from Abigail and her mom.

"She says that to everybody. Say you're sorry, Abby." Laura said laughing a bit.

"No. They did it." Abigail said now looking at her mother.

"Who did it?" Kelly asked in confusion 

"The twins." Abigail said now looking at Kelly

"Shh." Laura shushed Abby

"Can I pet your dog?" Abigail asked again looking at the dog who continued barking

"No. Abigail, listen to me. I want you to stop coming in here without permission. Am I clear?" Kelly said to Abigail as she squished the girls cheeks in both hands together making Abby make eye contact with her "Kelly." Chris said grabbing her shoulder tugging it a bit

"Am I clear?" Kelly asked one more time

"Yes." Abby said "Thank you."Kelly said as she let go of Abby's face

"Time to go, Abby." Laura said standing up along side with Abby, Abigail bent down and tried touching the growling dog who bit her once her hand reached its head making her jump back a bit

"Hallie! Are you okay?" Kelly asked 

"She shouldn't have done that." Abigail said before rushing towards the door leaving.

"Sorry about all this......You touch my kid one more time and I will break your goddamn arm." Laura said as she soon left as well leaving both Chris and Kelly shocked in the kitchen.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"No, I have no evidence of any past violence. No, I don't have his Social. Listen, do not transfer me again. I'm trying to report a patient of high school age that I believe could be dangerous. Yes. Yes, I'll hold."Chris groaned as he hung up the phone as he sat down on the couch in his office "Unbelievable." Chris huffed as he ran his hand Through his hair

"May I clean in here?" A voice interrupted Chris from his thoughts looking up to see Moira.

"It's not a good time, Moira." Chris said.

"It's Thursday. I get off in 20 minutes. If I don't do it now, it's not getting done until Monday." Moira said as she took out a duster and started dusting his book shelf "Am I distracting you?" Moira asked Chris as she made her way towards him "Why don't you touch me a little?" She said as she unbuttoned her blouse showing Chris her breast that were covered with a black lacy bra

"Get out." Chris said feeling his pants tighten.

"What are you afraid of? Your wife's not home. She's probably at Pilates. I won't tell. I didn't tell when you saw me playing with myself the other day." Moira said as she sat in Chris's lap.

"Please just go." Chris said gripping the couch arms

"Did you touch yourself after?" Moira asked wrapping her arms around Chris's neck pulling him closer.

"Please just go." Chris said more frustrated then before.

"You did. Do it again. Show me." Moira said as she slowly grinding down on Chris's crotch but a small creaking sound stopped both of them making them turn round to see a shocked Tyler standing in the door way

"Shit! Tyler." Chris said pushing Moira off of him as Tyler ran upstairs as fast as he could "Tyler! Damn it!" Chris shouted punching a wall near him making a dent.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"I'm not scared of you!" Tyler shouted as he was pinned down on a lunch table by Brendon 

"You should be!" Brendon shouted back slapping Tyler across the face "

"Get off. Get off!" Tyler yellee as he threw a lunch bag at Brendon who now pinned him down on the cafeteria floor as the other students surrounded the, shouting! Over and over again, Tyler reached out towards the cigarette he was smoking earlier which caused the fight and twisted the end on Brendon's hand making him quickly release Tyler who ran away 

"he freaking burned me!" Brendon shouted as he watched Tyler run away.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly continued scraping the wallpaper that she now knew was covering some paintings

"My professional opinion? Whoever painted this wall had some deep psychological issues." Chris said making Kelly turn to look at him as he entered the room

"I thought you had a patient." Kelly asked

"Ah, they bailed. Do you want some help cleaning up?" Chris asked 

"Yeah. Thanks." Kelly said smiling a bit handing an extra scraper to Chris 

"This thing doesn't tweak you out?" Chris asked as he started to scrape some wallpaper of another painting 

"There's something about it that I find weirdly comforting." Kelly shrugged 

"One of my psych professors told me that people tell stories that cope with their fears. All art and myths are just creations to give us some sense of control over the things we're scared of. Afraid of dying? Create reincarnation. Afraid of evil? Create a benevolent God who sends evildoers to hell." Chris stated looking over at a lost Kelly

"I think I just like that I don't have to think while I do it." Kelly said as she stared at the paintings 

"Okay." Chris laughed as he stared at his wife who continued scraping "I always thought you were prettiest like this. No makeup, messy hair, a little sweaty." Chris said smiling at her 

"I'm old. Stop." Kelly sighed as she turned to look at Chris

"You're beautiful. You are. You know that?" Chris continued as he made his way over to Kelly pulling her body closer to his "Tyler won't be home for an hour." Chris said as he bent down to kiss Kelly on the lipsb

"No. Chris." Kelly said moving her head away from Chris 

"Come on, babe." Chris said 

"No. Sorry. I'm just not-" Kelly said but was cut off by her own sigh

"How long, Kells? How long are you gonna punish me for?" Chris asked as he walked to the other side of the room knocking over the little table full of tools kelly was using to scrape 

"I'm not punishing you, you narcissistic asshole. I'm trying to figure out how to forgive you for having sex with one of your students. You want me to have sex with you? I can't even look at your face, Chris without seeing the expression on it while you were pile-driving her in our bed!" Kelly said dropping her tool on the floor

"I screwed up! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? I was hurting too!" Chris shouted 

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Did- Did the life that was growing inside you die and did you have to carry that around in your belly? The dead corpse of our baby daughter? Did you have to go into labor and deliver our child, dead?" Kelly shouted back 

"My daughter died too! My baby died too!" Chris continued 

"And you buried your sorrow in some 21-year-old's pussy." Kelly said feeling her eyes water a bit

"You know, I could show you statistics on how many men cheat after a miscarriage. I was there for you, Kells. I was patient and understanding and caring, and I put your feelings first." Chris said running his hand threw his hair frustrated 

"My hero." Kelly said before looking away "I don't even know how to say this without coming off like an asshole." Chris sighed as he noticed his wife started crying 

"You know what? Just go ahead. Really. Never stopped you before. You're so angry. Why don't you really tell it like it is? Six months of therapy with you apologizing and crying was bullshit. So, please, tell me how you really feel." Kelly said looking back at Chris's face

"You got a dog. I needed you, and you got a dog. It was me you should've been curling up with at night. Not a dog! I needed you." Chris finally stated

"You needed me? So she was revenge because you needed me? Because I wasn't there for you in your time of need? Now I get it." Kelly said sighing 

"We haven't had sex in almost a year." Chris said with a now calm voice 

"Yeah. You think I don't know that?" Kelly said in the same toned voice

"October 20th. We had great sex, Kells. It was loving and sexy and personal and even a little- even a little weird. I love you. I moved across country for you because in all my life the only thing I've been truly scared of is losing you losing this family. Something horrible happened to us and we handled it even more horribly. But this- this place is our second chance, Kells. It's our second chance. But I just- I just need to know that you want it too. Tell me I-" Chris was caught off by a now fully crying Kelly shoving him hard "What are you doing? Kells. Kells, stop it. What are you doing? No." Chris said as Kelly continued shoving him before he grabbed the back of her head making her look up crashing their lips together into a long passionate kiss.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Here you go, Hallie. Good girl. Good girl." Kelly said as she out some water down for her dog who immediately started drinking "Hey." Kelly greeted Tyler who came downstairs who grabbed an apple, turning around making Kelly notice the bruise on his left temple from when Brendon punched him 

"Whoa. Come here. What happened to your face?" Kelly said pointing at a stool at the island making Tyler sit as she went to go grab a first aid kit

"Fell down." Tyler simply answered with a bored impression 

"Come here." Kelly said as she sat in front of Tyler opening the first aid kit 

"Boy or girl?" Kelly asked as she took out a wet wipes "Boys. Three of them. Hope they look worse than you do. Do you know their names?"Kelly asked as she started to clean some dry blood on his face

"I'm not narcing." Tyler simply said 

"You know, we can easily move you to a different school. There are a lot of really good private schools right in this neighborhood." Kelly said as she finished cleaning the blood off his bruise

"I'm not running away. I'm not scared of them." Tyler said looking at his mother in the eyes now

"Not afraid of anything. It's like that time in kindergarten when you insisted that I bring you home from the slumber party 'cause all the other boys were sleeping with the night light on. I know you've gotten the short end of the stick lately. This move and your dad and I haven't exactly been great to be around." Kelly said as she threw the wet wipes away and put the first aid kit away 

"Why don't you guys get divorced if you're so miserable?" Tyler asked as he slouched in his seat a bit 

"We still love each other." Kelly said as she sat back down Infront of Tyler 

"You could have fooled me. I thought you hated each other. Well, at least you hated him. I don't blame you. He was a shithead." Tyler said looking at his mother's face that now showed disappointment "Sorry." He apologized looking away 

"It's okay. He was a shithead." Kelly said smiling at Tyler who returned the smile "You know, we've got a lot of history. Your dad's been through a lot. I've been through a lot. Guess we need each other. "

What are you scared of? You said I'm not scared of anything. So what scares you?" Tyler asked as he sat up a bit

"Lately? Everything. Life will do that to you." Kelly said as she looked at Tyler.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"I hate him. I just want to kill him." Tyler ranted as he paced back and forth 

"Then do it. One less high school dick making the lives of the less fortunate more tolerable is in my opinion, a public service. You want him to leave you alone? Stop making your life a living hell? Short of killing him, there's only one solution. Scare him. Make him afraid of you. That's the only thing bullies react to." Josh said as he sat back in a chair watching Tyler in amusement, currently they were in Tyler's dad's office

"How?" Tyler asked as he continued pacing back and forth

"It's simple. You simply walk up to her and say "Here's the deal. I need you to stop harassing me. I got what you want, drugs. Come to my house tomorrow for your free sample. I'm a dealer and a good one. I got the best shit in town." Josh said restating something for Tyler to say 

"He's a cokehead. I don't have coke." Tyler said still pacing

"You won't need any. It's just an excuse to get her here. After that, he'll leave empty-handed and terrified and I promise you, you'll never be bothered by him again." Josh said 

"How am I gonna terrify him?" Tyler asked as he stopped pacing and finally looked at Josh 

"That's where I come in." Josh said smirking up at Tyler.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"What's down there?" Brendon asked as Tyler turned the lights on in his basement as they walked down the stairs 

"My stash. Parents toss my room every week." Tyler said

"If you're screwing with me" Brendon said stopping in his tracks looking around the basement. 

"I found the best hiding place. This is great shit too. A lot of the coke coming into the U. S. from Central America is smuggled in on lobster boats from Gloucester. Used to show my dick to the lobstermen in return for a key or two before they cut it." Tyler said as they made it further into the basement 

"So where is it?" Brendon asked "Right around the corner. To the right." Tyler said pointing at a dark empty room 

"This place is a dump." Brendon complained as he entered the room slightly hugging the wall looking for some sort of light switch

"Oh, shut up." Tyler scoffed as he followed behind Brendon "I want my goddamn drugs." Brendon shouted

"Then keep going." Tyler said before they entered another room which was smaller, Tyler turned the lights on behind Brendon as they were both met with Josh in the middle of the room in a white chair 

"So this is the cokehead" Josh asked staring at Brendon with a slight smirk 

"Who the hell are you?" Brendon asked 

"Get the lights." Josh said making Tyler turn the lights off, a few seconds later the lights started flickering violently 

"What is going on? What is going on?" Brendon shouted as Josh started laughing like a maniac as he violently started rocking back and forth in the chair 

"Come on, whore! Come on! Coke whore!" Josh growled in a deep voice as he tackled Brendon onto the ground and started wrestling him, Tyler soon as well started screaming as he saw whenever the lights flickered it would transfer from Josh being on top of Brendon from this short white monstrous thing with sharp teeth and bloody nails with small black eyes

"Get off of me. Get off! Get it off! Get it off me! Get it off!" Brendon shouted as Josh or the little demon looking thing threw punches and scratches 

"Stop!" Tyler shouted as he moved forward to go stop but was stopped when two strong arms were wrapped around his slim waist, now noticing it was Josh holding him back because all he saw attacking Brendon was the small demon creature 

"Mommy?" Brendon whispered out as the he made eye contact with the small thing before screaming in pain as it scratches him across the face, soon the lights turned back on and there was nothing in the room, Brendon got up and ran out of the basement

"Brendon, wait!" Tyler called out as Josh finally released his grip around Tyler's waist 

"I don't think he'll be bothering you anymore." Josh said to Tyler smiling 

"What was that?" Tyler asked sobbing in horror

"What? he kneed me in the balls and got away. he must have run into a wall or something." Josh said - 

"No, I saw something!" Tyler screamed as he backed away from Josh 

"Tyler, you're talking crazy. This is cool. We showed that fucker." Josh said getting closer to Tyler 

"Get out." Tyler shouted as he shoved Josh "I never want to see you again." He said before running upstairs himself leaving a shocked Josh in the basement staring at the floor a bit

"I thought you weren't afraid of anything!" Josh shouted.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Chris looked back noticing a brown mustang following behind him slowly making him jog a bit faster, the faster Chris jogged the faster the car went making Chris run into some dried bushes, the man parked the car and ran after Chris 

"Who are you? And why are you following me?" Chris asked seeking up behind the man noticing it was the man that was looking threw his Window 

"Your family is in danger." The man said out of breathe 

"What happened to you?" Chris asked as they both sat at a bench 

"Pretty, aren't I? It's over 70% of my body." The man said pointing at his burns "I'm Larry Harvey. And you have to get out of that house." The man said 

"I could have you arrested. Peeking in people's windows is still a crime. Even in L. A." Chris said

"They're not gonna put me back into jail. I have brain cancer. It's terminal, inoperable." The man said 

"I'm sorry." Chris said looking away 

"Don't be. That's the only reason they let me out. Homicide. Triple homicide. I was in that house for six months before I started hearing voices. My wife thought I was working too hard. My daughter Angie was six. The older one, Margaret, was 10. She looked like her mother. It's funny how it skips a generation like that. I killed them all. Lorraine was ill that night. She took a pill. She went to bed early, my wife. And then I, uh- I put the girls down. And then the voices started. They told me what to do. I was like an obedient child. I- I don't know how I put myself out. I remember that night, but it's like a dream. Have- Have you been sleepwalking?" The man or Larry said "Yeah. Look up my case. Read the transcript." Larry said 

"Listen to me. I'm a doctor. They may not put you back in jail but I can certainly have you committed to a state mental institution. And trust me, those places make prison look like Club Med. Leave my family alone. Do you hear me?" Chris said backing up a bit 

"Please. Please. Please. You have to get out of there! That place is evil." Larry pleaded grabbing Chris by the collar 

"Get off of me! Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" Chris shouted shoving the man away and ran.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hmm." Laura hummed as she opened Kelly's jewelry box and took out some diamond studs, she was currently in the couple's room without them knowing 

"Put those earrings back." A voice said startling Laura, she turned around to see Moira

"Jesus H. Christ. You almost gave me a heart attack." Laura said as she breathed in heavily

"Those belong to madam. This is her house, not yours." Moira said glaring at Laura 

"Why is it that it is always the old whore who acts the part of a moralistic prude? I'd be nervous if I were you too. When things go missing they always blame the new maid." Laura's said as she walked closer to Moira with the diamond studs still in her hands "I'd move if I were you." Laura said making Moira .I've a side so she can exit the room "Don't make me kill you again." Laura said looking at Moira for a bit before finally leaving.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hey." Kelly greeted Chris as she entered the house from the back door in the kitchen

"Hey." Chris greeted back as he sat at the island 

"What do you want for dinner?" Kelly asked Chris 

"Whatever you want." {{Un-edited}}

-1978-

A little girl stoof in front of an abandoned house,staring at it. Her small body flinched as glass shattered, she turned back seeing two boys with very similar features, twins. They were dragging bats behind them pushing each other.

"Hey, Troy. You're a dork." The twin in the striped green shirt said as he shoved his brother while they both entered the front gates of the abandoned home.

"Oh, shut up." Troy said as he shoved his brother back making the other laugh a bit "Hey, freak." Troy said to the little girl who stared at them as they made their way to the front door.

"Excuse me. You are going to die in there." The girl whispered loud enough for them to hear, she stood underneath a tree. 

"Shut your mouth or we're gonna kick your ass. We got bats." Bryan threatened as he swung the bat back and forth lightly before opening the door to go inside the house.

"I hate trees." Troy said as he swatted at some over grown branches that were in his way before entering the house after his brother.

"You're gonna regret it. You're gonna regret it. You're gonna regret it." The little girl repeated as she watched the boys enter the house.

The twins inspected the inside of the house looking at each other with a small grin before they started smashing everything made of glass near by. Soon separating from one another with one going upstairs and the other going into a different room, Bryan made his way downstairs smashing one last wall light before looking down the stairs noticing a dead animal of some sort.

"Troy!" Bryan called out for his brother as he maked his way down the stairs with the dead animal at his feet before his brother enterd the room.

"Awesome." Troy said inspecting the animal with a smirk, both of the boys looked to their left once they heared a slight creak watching as a door opened slightly "Go." Troy nudged his brother with his elbow.

"You go, shithead." Bryan said shoving his brother back. Troy went first,opening the door leading to the basement as they walked down the creaky stairs.

"Check it out." Troy said turning on his flashlight pointing it towards a shelf against the wall full of jars, both the twins got closer to the shelf spectating what was inside the jars soon feeling awfully disgusted finding out the jars contained human baby limbs and heads along with other dead animals, the troy picked up a jar containing a baby head smashing it against the floor startling the other brother "stinks in here." troy said as he walked along side his brother, exploring the dark basement.

"It stinks like shit." Bryan said, flashing his light around corners.

"Remember last summer when we got the raccoon stuck in our chimney? That's what it smells like." Troy said not noticing the small pitter patter of feet in the background while he was talking, neither did the other twin

"Let's go find it." Troy said.

"No, it smells bad. I'm getting out of here." Bryan said as he made his way upstairs soon stopping once he heard his brother's footsteps suddenly stop as well "Troy? Troy?" Bryan called out soon worried as he made his way back downstairs hearing a metal can roll across the floor "Who's down there?" He asked flashing his light in the room his brother entered "Cut it out, Troy. Cut it out." He said as he turned to his left to see his brother covered in blood with a shard of glass pierced in his throat, Troy was having trouble breathing as he looked up at his brother with fear in his eyes as he gurgled blood out of both his mouth and the slash on his neck, Bryan started to panic as he heard footsteps on his right, he quickly shined his light towards the noise soon being attacked.

-Today-

"So are your periods regular again?" The gynecologist asked Kelly as she sat on the examination table.

"Every other month. Not that I'm really complaining after all that blood. Chris hates blood." Kelly said.

"You having issues with arousal?" The doctor asked taking notes on a clipboard.

"Not when I'm by myself." Kelly giggling .

"Hmm. You can lie back." The doctor said as he put his clipboard out and grabbed some tools Kelly sat back and propped her legs up on some medal plates attached to the table she laid at "Well, I've recently had some success with women your age using bioidentical treatments and hormones." The doctor said as he started his examination.

"For what?" Kelly asked looking to her right staring at a sink.

"Well, it's sort of a preemptive strike. You see, your body is like a house. You can fix the tiles in the bathroom and the kitchen but if the foundation is decaying, well, you're wasting your time." The doctor leaned back and put the tools back on thr tray on his right before taking his gloves off.

"What are the side effects?" Kelly asked sitting up "Well, the B. H. R. T. 's are great for your skin, your organs. Most of the women I give these to tell me they make them feel 10 years younger." The doctor said grabbing his clipboard again.

"I don't know. I don't even let my family drink out of plastic bottles. Taking a bunch of hormones when I don't even know what the side effects are?"Kelly said sighing a bit "I'd just-" Kelly continued but was soon cut off by the doctor.

"Feel and look 10 years younger." The doctor reminded her.

"I don't need hormones, Doctor. I'm just trying to get control of my body again after what happened." Kelly said feeling a slight pain in her chest as she reminds herself of that incident.

"And I'm offering you something to help you get that back." The doctor said as he started writing a prescription for the hormones.

"I'm not a house." She whispered staring at the doctor.

"Kelly, what are you so afraid of?" The doctor asked handing her the prescription which she very carefully took into her hands.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

As Kelly entered the house she made her way into the kitchen setting some groceries down on the counter she got after leaving the gynecologist. She shook some snow off of her soon stopping once she heared a feminine groan, she quickly and quietly took her cell phone out and dialed the police.

"911." The operater said 

" I have an intruder in my house." Kelly whispered.

"You sure it's not a member of your family?" The operator asked. 

"No. Nobody is home."

"What's the address?" 

"35 Drumlin Road."

"We're sending a patrol car."

"Please hurry. Please" Kelly placed her phone down on the counter before grabbing the nearest knife, she slowly made her way upstairs, turning left heading towards the noises which grew louder as she reached her bedroom door, she slowly opened it before slowly seeing her world crash Infront of her, she slowly started walking downstairs with knife still in hand.

"Oh, my God. Oh, Kells, no. No. No- Kells." Chris yelled at his wife as he ran out of the room naked grabbing her shoulder "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No. No- Ah!" Chris yelled as Kelly quickly spun around flinging the knife, cutting his left bicep.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

As the Joseph's drove forward they finally reached a sign saying 'Welcome To Los Angel's'

"The light is different out here. It's softer." Kelly said looking around the freeway putting her sunglasses on her head.

"It's called smog." Tyler said from the back seat.

"You should be excited, Kells." Chris chimed to his wife who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat as he looked in the rearview mirror back at their son "You can stop sneaking cigarettes and just start taking deep breaths." Chris joked making Tyler smile slightly as he soon took his own sunglasses off placing them in his hoodies pocket.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Tyler said crossing his arms.

"We're almost there." Chris said gripping the wheel tighter.

"I need to go." Tyler whined.

"Ty, it's a freeway. Really. Where do you want me to pull over? Maybe the Honda next to us has a bathroom or something." Chris pointed to the white car next to them.

"Bet if baby substitute had to shit, you'd find somewhere." Tyler said looking at their small Pomeranian dog who was seated in a carrier bag on his right.

"Really, Tyler? I hate that word unless I'm saying it." Kelly sighed making Tyler smirk.

"You know, I'm really glad we named you Tyler instead of our second choice." Chris said.

"Which was?" Tyler asked raising and eyebrow.

"Sunshine. It's funny. Come on. You gotta admit it's funny." Chris said smiling as Kelly giggled and Tyler stared at his dad letting out a mocking laugh, Chris chuckled before taking his wife's hand into his own. Kelly pulled her hand away making the smile on both his and her face fade as they drove in awkward silence.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

" I love it. Don't you love it, hon?" Chris said looking around the property as the stood on the front porch while Kelly nodded as she hugged their dog.

"I mean, it looks even better than it did online." Kelly said stroking the small dogs head.

"Yeah, it's- It's interesting." Chris said as he looked at Tyler.

"Great. So we're the Addams Family now." Tyler sighed as he looked up at the house.

"Hey! Crabby pants! Come here." Chris motioned to Tyler to join them at the porch sticking his arm out.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asked his dad as he walked closer to them before being pulled into a side hug by his dad.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Chris asked his son who he was smothering.

"Hmm." Tyler hummed as his dad finally let go of him and knocked on the front door.

"Welcome." A lady, the salesperson greeted them with a smile as she moved aside to let the family come inside, closing the door behind them. "It's a classic L. A. Victorian built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars at the time. It's just fabulous. These are real Tiffany fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners really loved this place like a child. They restored everything." The lady said as they made their way around the house.

"Gay?" Kelly asked as she continued to pet her dog, playing with her fur ad she looked around.

"What do you think?" The saleslady said making their way to the kitchen.

"Wow." Kelly awed as she put the Pomeranian down letting it run off to an unknown part of the house as she looked around.

"Do you cook?" The lady asked Kelly.

"Kells is a great cook. I got her cooking lessons a few years ago and she ended up teaching the teacher a few things. Cooking lessons." Chris said with a small smile answering for his clearly distracted wife.

"Romantic. Aren't you a psychologist?" The saleslady asked Chris.

"Psychiatrist. You said something on the phone about there being a study that I could use as a home office? I'm planning on seeing patients here so I can spend more time with the family." Chris said.

"How refreshing." The lady smiled at him. the dog started barking.

"Tyler, honey, would you go see where Hallie went? Thank you." Kelly asked her son before going back to looking around the kitchen.

Tyler huffed and followed the dogs barking finding her barking at a door "What are you yapping at?" Tyler asked the dog as he looked at the door making his way towards it shooing the dog away before struggling to open the door. finally opening it, he looked at the flights of stairs figuring it lead to the basement as he slowly walked downstairs and stopped halfway looking around basement before getting bored and making his way back upstairs shutting the door and picking up the dog, he made his way to where his parents and saleslady were.

"When I saw the pictures of this room online I thought maybe you could use it as your music room." Chris said to his wife as they entered another room.

"Are you a musician?" The lady asked Kelly.

"I was. Cellist." She answered examining the room.

"Very good one, in fact." Chris said.

"Why did you quit?" The lady asked.

"This wallpaper is peeling over here. Looks like maybe there's a mural underneath it." Kelly said as she peeled back some old floral wallpaper ignoring the lady's question.

"The last owners probably covered it up. They were modernists. Speaking of the last owners full disclosure requires that I tell you about what happened to them." The lady said making her smile slightly fade.

"Oh, God. They didn't die in here or anything, did they?" Kelly joked.

"Yes, actually. Both of them. Murder-suicide. I sold them the house too. They were just the sweetest couple. You never know, I guess." The lady said making Kelly shut down a bit "That explains why it's half the price of every other house in the neighborhood, I guess. I do have a very nice mid-century ranch, but it's in the Valley and you're going to get a third of the house for twice the price." The sales lady said.

"Great." Chris huffed "Where'd it happen?" Tyler asked a bit too excited as he stroked the dogs fur.

"The basement." The lady answered slightly startled at the teens excitement.

"We'll take it." Tyler smirked as he continued to pet the dog.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Come on, baby. Let's go to bed. Leave that for the morning." Chris said to his wife who was had two full body mirrors in both of her hands as he walked into their new bedroom.

"I'm a little bit worried about Tyler. You know? These kids here are very different. I don't know if he can handle another year not fitting in." Kelly sighed as she put the mirrors down and turned to face Chris who sat on the left side of the bed right Infront of her.

"You mean you can't?" Chris said smirking.

"I can't believe this place doesn't freak you out a little because of what happened here." Kelly said sighing once again.

"My repulsion is tempered by the fact that this house is worth four times what we paid for it. So, let's not think about it." Chris said.

"This is your professional advice, Doctor? Just denial?" Kelly asked as she placed a small bottle of oil on the night stand next to their bed.

"Come on. Let me give you a little love." Chris said taking the bottle of oil and squirting some on his hand before rubbing them together to warm the oil up "Moving here, buying this house was the exact right thing to do for us and our family. It's a good thing. And we deserve some good after all the shit we've been through." Chris whispered as he took Kelly's right arm and rubbed the oil up and down massaging her arm a bit before moving to her left as his hand went lower to her hand making his thumb graze over her wedding ring making her quickly pull her hand away and walk towards the room entrance.

"I-I've got some stuff I want to unpack down in the kitchen. I appreciate that you're trying. I'm trying too. Okay. It's just gonna take some time." Kelly said to Chris before finally leaving to the kitchen.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Tyler made his way to his class, he took a drag out of a cigarette he lit a minute ago which was almost gone as he continued walking as other students stared at him

"So I let him." A boy said to his two friends, one being shortest wearing a fedora the other being slightly taller then both with light brown hair, quickly catching a whiff of the toxic smoke.

"Do coke off your nipples?" One of his friends asked.

"They were numb for, like, two days." The boy said as he stared at Tyler and slowly made his way towards him "Hey! Student council passed a rule against smoking in public spaces." The boy said as he stepped Infront of Tyler making Tyler jump a bit 

"Secondhand smoke kills." Another boy said as he stood next to the boy with an oddly large forehead.

"I'm new. I didn't know." Tyler said quietly as he dropped the cigarette about to stomp on it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? People sit here. They eat here." The boy with the large forehead said as he picked the almost gone cigarette off the floor.

"You don't know me. Why are you doing this?" Tyler said glaring at the boys.

"Brendon's grandmother died of lung cancer. he takes this stuff pretty seriously." The shortest boy said.

"Eat it. Eat it or I'm gonna kick the shit out of you" brendon said.

"No." Tyler said backing up a bit scrunching his face up in disgust

"Come on, Brendon. That's enough."

"No, no, no. I want to see him eat it. Yes! Eat it!" Brendon shouted grabbing Tyler's neck pulling the cigarette closer to his mouth as he struggled to get away.

"Brendon, seriously, he's, like, 12." The shortest friend said before Tyler finally spat in his face making Brendon quickly release him and wipe his face.

"You are dead! You are dead!" Brendon yelled as he furiously wiped his cheek making Tyler look back smiling as he grabbed his red beanie before it fell off his head and continued running.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly scraped at the wallpaper in the living room and threw the pieces in a trash can near her.

"You're gonna die in here." A female voice said startling Kelly making her Yelp a bit as she turned around quickly facing a girl across the room.

"Who are you? What are you doing? What are you doing here?" Kelly asked the girl who stared at her.

"Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. I put on Dora the Explorer for you, so you would sit and watch it." Another female voice was heard as a much older women stepped in going towards the other girl.

"It was Go, Diego, Go. I don't like it." The girl whined a bit.

"Oh, brown cartoon characters. You can't tell the difference." The older women said.

"Excuse me." Kelly said as she had enough watching these two strangers argue in her house 

"Hi. Hi. I'm Laura Dun , your neighbor from next door and this is my girl, Abigail." The lady greeted as she wrapped her arm around Abigail's shoulders.

"Hello." Abigail greeted.

"Go home, Abby. Now." Laura said as she lightly pushed Abigail to the front door "That girl is a monster. I love her, and I'm a good Christian but Jesus H. Christ if they'd invented some of those tests a few years ago, I would have-" Laura rambled before being cut off by a still slightly scared Kelly.

"How did you get into my house?" Kelly asked.

"You left your back door open. Although I have to tell you, Abby will always find a way in. She has a bug up her ass about this house. Always has." Laura said as she placed the box that she had on her hand down as she looked at the fine china on display in the living room "You have the loveliest things." Laura said as she continued looking around.

"Thank you." Kelly said as she placed her scraper tool down on a small table.

"Have you got a dog?" Laura asked as she turned to face Kelly.

"I-I do have a dog, yes." Kelly stuttered nervously as Laura walked closer to her.

"I run a little kennel out of my house. Doggy day care kind of a thing and How nice. Well, I prefer purebreds. I adore the beauty of a long line but there's always room in my home for mongrels." She said as she was now face to face with Kelly "Oh. Oh, my. Look at those earrings. Are those real diamonds? Not that home-shopping shit" Laura asked as she looked at the diamond studs on Kelly's ears.

"Yea" Kelly replied.

"I used to have diamonds like that. Different pair for every day of the week." Laura said "Did your husband give them to you?" Laura asked.

"He did." Kelly smiled a bit nervously.

"Mm-hmm. They always do when you're young and pretty." Laura said as she made her way back to looking around.

"Are you Southern?" Kelly asked as she noticed the faint accent in the lady's voice when she spoke.

"Proud Virginian. The Old Dominion, born and bred. Thank you for noticing. I came out here to be a movie star. Did the screen tests and everything. But nudity was the big deal then. The morals were just beginning to collapse and I wasn't about to have my green pasture flashed 70 feet high for every man, woman and child to see. So I took that little butterfly of a dream and put it in a jar on the shelf. And, uh, soon after came the mongoloid and, of course, I couldn't work after that." Laura said as she sat on a recliner facing Kelly.

"It has been so great to meet you. I just, you know- I wasn't prepared for guests at all." Kelly stuttered.

"I'm gone." Laura said as she stood up and made her way to the front door with Kelly following behind her "Oh, I brought you this. You know, a little, um, housewarming." Laura said as she grabbed the box she brought handing it to Kelly.

"Thank you." Kelly said smiling a bit looking down at the box.

"Addy wanted to bake you a pie but she tends to spit in the cooking so I thought this would be better. Help get rid of some of that bad juju."Laura said as she looked up at Kelly and smiled "I don't remember your name." 

"Right, no. I never got a chance to tell you my name. My name is Kelly Joseph." Kelly said.

"Anyway, relax and enjoy. Let me know if you need any help with that pup. Will do. I'm glad you're getting rid of that wallpaper. I thought those people were supposed to be stylish." Laura said as she continued to smile at Kelly as she opened the box slightly confused on what it was "It's sage for cleansing the spirits in the house. Too many bad memories in here." Laura said as she finally made her way out the house.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly took the lighter and lit the sage holding the lighter next to it slowly burning it putting the lighter down once she saw smoke from the sage and waved it around the hall soon stopping as she looked up seeing a small attic door, she reached up and opened it climbing the ladder leading up to the attic and studied the dark area, she finally made it all the way in and reached out grabbing onto what seemed to be a light switch pulling it down and light soon filling the room, Kelly looked up and screamed as she saw a leather suit suspended up from the ceiling.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Chris asked Kelly as he made his way up the attic stairs and looked up "Oh. I guess these guys were into the kinky stuff, huh?" Chris said chuckling a bit "Should I try it on?" Chris asked his wife smiling.

"That's not funny." Kelly said smiling as well.

"I think I'd look good in that." Chris said.

"What happened?" Tyler asked as he made his way up the ladder "Holy shit." Tyler whispered smiling as he saw the leather suit.

"Let's get rid of it." Kelly said.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs. Come on. Watch the stairs." Chris said pushing the memorized Tyler down the ladder.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"So, Josh, these fantasies started two years ago?" Chris asked Josh one of his newer patients as he sat across from the teen who sat crisscross on a couch.

"Two years ago. It's always the same. It starts the same way." Josh said in a low voice as he picked at the loose string on his ripped jeans looking around the office.

"How? Tell me." Chris said as he took out a notepad and a pen.

"I prepare for the noble war. I'm calm. I know the secret. I know what's coming, and I know no one can stop me, including myself." Josh said smiling a bit.

"Do you target people who have been mean to you or unkind?" Chris asked as he started blotting down this information on the notepad.

"I kill people I like. Some of them beg for their life. I don't feel sad. I don't feel anything. It's a filthy world we live in. It's a filthy, goddamn, helpless world. And, honestly, I feel like I'm helping to take them away from the shit and the piss and the vomit that run in the streets. I'm helping to take them somewhere clean and kind. There's something about all that blood, man. I drown in it. The Indians believed that blood holds all the bad spirits. Once a month in ceremonies, they would cut themselves to let the spirits go free. There's something smart about that. Very smart. I like that." Josh said as he looked at Chris who stared at Josh with slight amusement "You think I'm crazy?" Josh asked making his smile fade slightly.

"No. I think you're creative, and I think you have a lot of pain you're not dealing with." Chris said.

"My mother's probably worried about me, right?" Josh asked as he looked down at his crossed legs.

"I'm sure she is." Chris said.

"She's a cocksucker. I mean, literally a cocksucker. She used to suck the guy off next door all the time. My dad found out, and he left. He left me alone with a cocksucker. Can you imagine? How sick is that?" Josh said, his small smile soon returning.

"I've heard a lot worse." Chris said .

"Cool. Can you tell me some? I like stories." Josh asked sitting up a bit more.

"No. I can't." Chris said.

"The world is a filthy place. It's a filthy, goddamn, horror show. There's so much pain, you know? There's so much." Josh said as he leaned back as he watched Chris continue taking notes.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"You're doing it wrong." Josh said leaning against the bathroom door frame making Tyler jump as he looked up at the mirror looking at Josh in slight shock as he put the blade down the blood soaked sink from cutting his left wrist "If you're trying to kill yourself, cut vertically. They can't stitch that up." Josh said as he bit his lip looking at the smaller boy up and down smiling a bit liking what he saw very much.

"How'd you get in here?" Tyler asked as he held his wrist to prevent blood from going on the tiled floor.

"If you're trying to kill yourself, you might also try locking the door." Josh said finally closing the bathroom door as he left leaving a shocked Tyler staring at the mirror.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly took another white sheet out of the basket and hung it putting clips on the end to keep it from flying away, Kelly quickly turned around once she heard soft foot steps from behind her coming face to face with an older red headed women "May I help you?" Kelly asked.

"I'm Moira O'Hara. I'm the housekeeper." The lady said smiling sweetly at Kelly

"Oh. I didn't know the place came with a housekeeper." Kelly said smiling back.

"Why are you hanging your sheets? Perfectly good electric dryer inside." Moira said as she looked behind at all the sheets hung up.

"I don't like all those chemicals in the fabric softener so I just like to do it naturally." Kelly said looking back down at the basket with more sheets in it.

"I work Monday through Thursday. Thanksgiving on, Christmas off." Moira said bluntly "That was the deal with the last fellows." She said breaking the silence that lasted only a few seconds.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not sure that we're gonna need a housekeeper." Kelly said scratching the back of her neck .

"What have you been using to clean the floorboards?" Moira asked .

"Murphy's Oil Soap." Kelly said.

"Oh, no. White vinegar. Oil soap kills the wood." Moira said shaking her head.

"I like that better. It's more natural." Kelly said.

"Have you ever owned a house this old before?" Moira asked.

"No." Kelly said.

"It has a personality, feelings. Mistreat it and you'll regret it. May I come in? My cab's left, and I'd like to call another." Moira said.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"So you worked for the previous owners?" Kelly asked as she poured some tea in a cup for Moira handing the cup to the lady before pouring some for herself. They made it back inside the house. as she sat across from Moira at the kitchen island.

"I've been the housekeeper here for years. They come, they go. I stay. They were both nice boys, the ones before you. I found the bodies." Moira said taking the cup

"What happened? I mean, I hate to gossip." Kelly asked in a whisper.

"They fought a lot. Money, I think. But who can know when something so horrible happens? Sometimes people just go mad. I cleaned the mess. You'd never know." Moira said as she put some sugar into her tea and stirred it.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Kelly asked still whispering.

"Do you ever get tired of cleaning up other people's messes?" Kelly asked as she as well stirred her tea.

"We're women. It's what we do. I just get paid for it." Moira said as she took a sip of her tea, after a minute Chris walks in with a banana in hand.

"Oh, hey, this is my husband, Chris. Chris, this is Moira O'Hara. She was the housekeeper for the previous owner." Kelly said.

"Nice to meet you." Chris smiled but his smile soon dropped at the sight of the maid, he didn't see an old lady like Kelly did he say a very young sexy woman who smirked at Chris.

'That's my cab." She said in a low slightly seductive voice "I'll use the lavatory first if you don't mind." She asked Kelly looking like an old lady again.

"Sure." Kelly said as Moira walked off swaying her hips making Chris stair at her plump ass in that maid outfit. 

"What do you think?" Kelly asked Chris.

"Wait, you-you- you want to hire her?" He stuttered.

"Yeah. I mean, she's a little kooky, but she seems trustworthy. She knows the house really well, and I feel like I could just use the help." Kelly said turning to see Moira again "So, can you start tomorrow?" She asked.

"Thursday's better, but I'll make it work." Moira said as she put her coat on "Okay. And you know, Moira, you don't have to wear the housekeeper's uniform. You can just wear your own clothes." Kelly said as she noticed her maids outfit.

"I don't like cleaning people's houses in my own clothes." Moira said looking at Chris before walking away, Chris stared at his wife slightly shocked.

"What?" Kelly asked leaning against the island Infront of Chris.

"Nothing. Just- You just always surprise me." Chris said as he kissed his wife passionately needing something to forget the maid. making out with his wife worked as he focused on her only as he made his way down to her neck and started sucking on it, Kelly put her hands on Chris's chest and pushed him away "You're gonna have to forgive me one day." Chris said as he rested his forehead against Kelly's

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"You mind if I tape this?" Chris asked Josh as he grabbed a tape recorder and sat in his chair across Josh.

"No." Josh simply responded as he laid across the couch playing with his fingers.

"You taking your medications?" Chris asked.

"Yes." Josh responded still playing with his hands.

"Any side effects?" Chris asked.

"I was taking them at night, but they kept me up." Josh said looking up at the ceiling.

"What'd you do?" Chris asked.

"Started taking them in the morning." Josh said as he looked at Chris now 

"Light sensitivity is pretty common." Chris said.

"Maybe. Yeah, I think so." Josh smiled a bit 

"When I was in medical school, they brought in this C. I. A. interrogator to help us better identify who was lying. This guy was like 6'5, crew cut. He must have been one hell of an interrogator because I'll tell you somethin'- I'd be terrified to lie to him." Chris said smiling as well.

"You think I'm lying to you?" Josh asked as he stood up from laying on the couch.

"Light sensitivity isn't a side effect of Lexapro, Josh." Chris said.

"So you lied to me." Josh said as he walked to the rocking chair in the room and sat on it rocking back and forth a bit.

"What is important, if you're telling the truth about doing these things to your classmates if you are actually a danger to society the law says that I have to report you to the police." Chris said as he stood up and sat on the arm of a chair Infront of Josh.

"Did you call them?" Josh asked.

"Not yet. I've treated psychotics before and people with the right combination of chemical imbalance and psychological damage that can't be reached." Chris said.

"You think that's me? You think I can't get better?" Josh asked as he stopped rocking on the chair.

"You? Are you kidding me? You're hopeless." Chris said before bursting into laughter with Josh following along

"Everybody can get better, Josh. Everybody. I just think you're scared. Of what, I'm not sure yet. Maybe rejection, certainly because of what your father did to you." Chris said smiling at the boy.

"I was afraid my big dick wouldn't work." Josh finally admitted.

"What?" Chris asked "Yeah, that's why I didn't take the meds. I was afraid my dick wouldn't work. Because I met someone." Josh said. Looking behind Chris seeing tyler staring at them from the door

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"This one I did after my dad left. I was 10, I think." Josh said as he rolled up his sleeve showing Tyler the scars on his wrist.

"Last week, first day at my new school. Sucks." Tyler said showing some of his as well.

"Westfield, right? The worst. I got thrown out of there." Josh said as he stood up from his place Infront of Tyler on the floor in Tyler's bedroom and made his way to the built in chalk board.

"I hate it here. I hate everyone. All their bougie designer bullshit. East Coast was much cooler. I mean, at least we had weather." Tyler said as he stared at Josh.

"I love it when the leaves change." Josh said looking for something to write with.

"Yeah, me too." Tyler said smiling a bit.

"Why'd you move here?" Josh asked as he finally found some chalk and started writing the words TAINT on the board.

"My dad had an affair. My mom literally caught him in the act." Tyler said looking at his lap.

"That's horrible. If you love someone, you should never hurt them. Never." Josh said as he returned to his spot across from Tyler on the floor.

"Right? I know. And the worst part is that six months earlier my mom had, like, this brutal miscarriage. The baby was seven months old, and we had to have this macabre funeral. Have you ever seen a baby coffin?" Tyler said as he looked up to see Josh staring intensely at him, Tyler felt his cheeks flush and looked down "Why are you seeing my dad?" Tyler asked breaking the silence.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. You're smarter than that." Josh said as he continued staring at Tyler, Tyler got up and made his way to his mp3 player "Wanna listen to Morrisey? He's cool, and he's pissy, and he hates everyone and everything." He said

"Got any Kurt Cobain on that thing?" Josh asked smiling.

"What are you doing in here?" Chris asked barging into Tyler's room.

"Just listening to music, Dad." Tyler said as he sat on his bed.

"You need to leave, Josh. You shouldn't be in here. I think you know that. Please." Chris said sternly, Josh stood up and made his way to the door stopping next to Chris.

"What's that thing you think I'm afraid of? Fear of rejection?" Josh asked coldly as he finally left 

"Stay away from him." Chris said to Tyler 

"Dad, nothing-"

"You heard me!" Chris said making Tyler shut up.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hey, babe, you seen my razor blades?" Chris called out to his wife as he exits the bathroom shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Your family is in danger." A whisper said making Chris jump a bit and look outside the window seeing a man, he quickly put on a robe and ran outside going to confront that man but once he was out he was already gone.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly huffed as she put down her huge bag full of groceries on the kitchen island and started to unpack the things getting startled once she heard a giggle, she looked around jumping once she saw her fridge wide open, she followed the giggle to the living room surprised to see it was Abigail "What are you doing?" Kelly asked shocked as Abigail didn't answer and only continued to giggle "Why are you in my house? I want you to stay out of my house. Do you understand?" Kelly said to Abigail who was paying attention to Hallie the dog.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Can I smoke in here?" Laura asked taking a cigarette out of her purse plus a lighter.

"No. Abigail, answer me please." Kelly said still trying to get Abby to communicate.

"Can I pet your dog?" Abigail asked looking at Kelly for a bit before looking back at the now barking dog.

"No. Abigail, I want you to stay out of the house. I want you to stop coming in and opening things up and telling me I'm gonna die." Kelly said

"She said that?" Chris asked as he stood next to Kelly on the other side of the island from Abigail and her mom.

"She says that to everybody. Say you're sorry, Abby." Laura said laughing a bit.

"No. They did it." Abigail said now looking at her mother.

"Who did it?" Kelly asked in confusion 

"The twins." Abigail said now looking at Kelly

"Shh." Laura shushed Abby

"Can I pet your dog?" Abigail asked again looking at the dog who continued barking

"No. Abigail, listen to me. I want you to stop coming in here without permission. Am I clear?" Kelly said to Abigail as she squished the girls cheeks in both hands together making Abby make eye contact with her "Kelly." Chris said grabbing her shoulder tugging it a bit

"Am I clear?" Kelly asked one more time

"Yes." Abby said "Thank you."Kelly said as she let go of Abby's face

"Time to go, Abby." Laura said standing up along side with Abby, Abigail bent down and tried touching the growling dog who bit her once her hand reached its head making her jump back a bit

"Hallie! Are you okay?" Kelly asked 

"She shouldn't have done that." Abigail said before rushing towards the door leaving.

"Sorry about all this......You touch my kid one more time and I will break your goddamn arm." Laura said as she soon left as well leaving both Chris and Kelly shocked in the kitchen.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"No, I have no evidence of any past violence. No, I don't have his Social. Listen, do not transfer me again. I'm trying to report a patient of high school age that I believe could be dangerous. Yes. Yes, I'll hold."Chris groaned as he hung up the phone as he sat down on the couch in his office "Unbelievable." Chris huffed as he ran his hand Through his hair

"May I clean in here?" A voice interrupted Chris from his thoughts looking up to see Moira.

"It's not a good time, Moira." Chris said.

"It's Thursday. I get off in 20 minutes. If I don't do it now, it's not getting done until Monday." Moira said as she took out a duster and started dusting his book shelf "Am I distracting you?" Moira asked Chris as she made her way towards him "Why don't you touch me a little?" She said as she unbuttoned her blouse showing Chris her breast that were covered with a black lacy bra

"Get out." Chris said feeling his pants tighten.

"What are you afraid of? Your wife's not home. She's probably at Pilates. I won't tell. I didn't tell when you saw me playing with myself the other day." Moira said as she sat in Chris's lap.

"Please just go." Chris said gripping the couch arms

"Did you touch yourself after?" Moira asked wrapping her arms around Chris's neck pulling him closer.

"Please just go." Chris said more frustrated then before.

"You did. Do it again. Show me." Moira said as she slowly grinding down on Chris's crotch but a small creaking sound stopped both of them making them turn round to see a shocked Tyler standing in the door way

"Shit! Tyler." Chris said pushing Moira off of him as Tyler ran upstairs as fast as he could "Tyler! Damn it!" Chris shouted punching a wall near him making a dent.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"I'm not scared of you!" Tyler shouted as he was pinned down on a lunch table by Brendon 

"You should be!" Brendon shouted back slapping Tyler across the face "

"Get off. Get off!" Tyler yellee as he threw a lunch bag at Brendon who now pinned him down on the cafeteria floor as the other students surrounded the, shouting! Over and over again, Tyler reached out towards the cigarette he was smoking earlier which caused the fight and twisted the end on Brendon's hand making him quickly release Tyler who ran away 

"he freaking burned me!" Brendon shouted as he watched Tyler run away.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly continued scraping the wallpaper that she now knew was covering some paintings

"My professional opinion? Whoever painted this wall had some deep psychological issues." Chris said making Kelly turn to look at him as he entered the room

"I thought you had a patient." Kelly asked

"Ah, they bailed. Do you want some help cleaning up?" Chris asked 

"Yeah. Thanks." Kelly said smiling a bit handing an extra scraper to Chris 

"This thing doesn't tweak you out?" Chris asked as he started to scrape some wallpaper of another painting 

"There's something about it that I find weirdly comforting." Kelly shrugged 

"One of my psych professors told me that people tell stories that cope with their fears. All art and myths are just creations to give us some sense of control over the things we're scared of. Afraid of dying? Create reincarnation. Afraid of evil? Create a benevolent God who sends evildoers to hell." Chris stated looking over at a lost Kelly

"I think I just like that I don't have to think while I do it." Kelly said as she stared at the paintings 

"Okay." Chris laughed as he stared at his wife who continued scraping "I always thought you were prettiest like this. No makeup, messy hair, a little sweaty." Chris said smiling at her 

"I'm old. Stop." Kelly sighed as she turned to look at Chris

"You're beautiful. You are. You know that?" Chris continued as he made his way over to Kelly pulling her body closer to his "Tyler won't be home for an hour." Chris said as he bent down to kiss Kelly on the lipsb

"No. Chris." Kelly said moving her head away from Chris 

"Come on, babe." Chris said 

"No. Sorry. I'm just not-" Kelly said but was cut off by her own sigh

"How long, Kells? How long are you gonna punish me for?" Chris asked as he walked to the other side of the room knocking over the little table full of tools kelly was using to scrape 

"I'm not punishing you, you narcissistic asshole. I'm trying to figure out how to forgive you for having sex with one of your students. You want me to have sex with you? I can't even look at your face, Chris without seeing the expression on it while you were pile-driving her in our bed!" Kelly said dropping her tool on the floor

"I screwed up! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? I was hurting too!" Chris shouted 

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Did- Did the life that was growing inside you die and did you have to carry that around in your belly? The dead corpse of our baby daughter? Did you have to go into labor and deliver our child, dead?" Kelly shouted back 

"My daughter died too! My baby died too!" Chris continued 

"And you buried your sorrow in some 21-year-old's pussy." Kelly said feeling her eyes water a bit

"You know, I could show you statistics on how many men cheat after a miscarriage. I was there for you, Kells. I was patient and understanding and caring, and I put your feelings first." Chris said running his hand threw his hair frustrated 

"My hero." Kelly said before looking away "I don't even know how to say this without coming off like an asshole." Chris sighed as he noticed his wife started crying 

"You know what? Just go ahead. Really. Never stopped you before. You're so angry. Why don't you really tell it like it is? Six months of therapy with you apologizing and crying was bullshit. So, please, tell me how you really feel." Kelly said looking back at Chris's face

"You got a dog. I needed you, and you got a dog. It was me you should've been curling up with at night. Not a dog! I needed you." Chris finally stated

"You needed me? So she was revenge because you needed me? Because I wasn't there for you in your time of need? Now I get it." Kelly said sighing 

"We haven't had sex in almost a year." Chris said with a now calm voice 

"Yeah. You think I don't know that?" Kelly said in the same toned voice

"October 20th. We had great sex, Kells. It was loving and sexy and personal and even a little- even a little weird. I love you. I moved across country for you because in all my life the only thing I've been truly scared of is losing you losing this family. Something horrible happened to us and we handled it even more horribly. But this- this place is our second chance, Kells. It's our second chance. But I just- I just need to know that you want it too. Tell me I-" Chris was caught off by a now fully crying Kelly shoving him hard "What are you doing? Kells. Kells, stop it. What are you doing? No." Chris said as Kelly continued shoving him before he grabbed the back of her head making her look up crashing their lips together into a long passionate kiss.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Here you go, Hallie. Good girl. Good girl." Kelly said as she out some water down for her dog who immediately started drinking "Hey." Kelly greeted Tyler who came downstairs who grabbed an apple, turning around making Kelly notice the bruise on his left temple from when Brendon punched him 

"Whoa. Come here. What happened to your face?" Kelly said pointing at a stool at the island making Tyler sit as she went to go grab a first aid kit

"Fell down." Tyler simply answered with a bored impression 

"Come here." Kelly said as she sat in front of Tyler opening the first aid kit 

"Boy or girl?" Kelly asked as she took out a wet wipes "Boys. Three of them. Hope they look worse than you do. Do you know their names?"Kelly asked as she started to clean some dry blood on his face

"I'm not narcing." Tyler simply said 

"You know, we can easily move you to a different school. There are a lot of really good private schools right in this neighborhood." Kelly said as she finished cleaning the blood off his bruise

"I'm not running away. I'm not scared of them." Tyler said looking at his mother in the eyes now

"Not afraid of anything. It's like that time in kindergarten when you insisted that I bring you home from the slumber party 'cause all the other boys were sleeping with the night light on. I know you've gotten the short end of the stick lately. This move and your dad and I haven't exactly been great to be around." Kelly said as she threw the wet wipes away and put the first aid kit away 

"Why don't you guys get divorced if you're so miserable?" Tyler asked as he slouched in his seat a bit 

"We still love each other." Kelly said as she sat back down Infront of Tyler 

"You could have fooled me. I thought you hated each other. Well, at least you hated him. I don't blame you. He was a shithead." Tyler said looking at his mother's face that now showed disappointment "Sorry." He apologized looking away 

"It's okay. He was a shithead." Kelly said smiling at Tyler who returned the smile "You know, we've got a lot of history. Your dad's been through a lot. I've been through a lot. Guess we need each other. "

What are you scared of? You said I'm not scared of anything. So what scares you?" Tyler asked as he sat up a bit

"Lately? Everything. Life will do that to you." Kelly said as she looked at Tyler.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"I hate him. I just want to kill him." Tyler ranted as he paced back and forth 

"Then do it. One less high school dick making the lives of the less fortunate more tolerable is in my opinion, a public service. You want him to leave you alone? Stop making your life a living hell? Short of killing him, there's only one solution. Scare him. Make him afraid of you. That's the only thing bullies react to." Josh said as he sat back in a chair watching Tyler in amusement, currently they were in Tyler's dad's office

"How?" Tyler asked as he continued pacing back and forth

"It's simple. You simply walk up to her and say "Here's the deal. I need you to stop harassing me. I got what you want, drugs. Come to my house tomorrow for your free sample. I'm a dealer and a good one. I got the best shit in town." Josh said restating something for Tyler to say 

"He's a cokehead. I don't have coke." Tyler said still pacing

"You won't need any. It's just an excuse to get her here. After that, he'll leave empty-handed and terrified and I promise you, you'll never be bothered by him again." Josh said 

"How am I gonna terrify him?" Tyler asked as he stopped pacing and finally looked at Josh 

"That's where I come in." Josh said smirking up at Tyler.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"What's down there?" Brendon asked as Tyler turned the lights on in his basement as they walked down the stairs 

"My stash. Parents toss my room every week." Tyler said

"If you're screwing with me" Brendon said stopping in his tracks looking around the basement. 

"I found the best hiding place. This is great shit too. A lot of the coke coming into the U. S. from Central America is smuggled in on lobster boats from Gloucester. Used to show my dick to the lobstermen in return for a key or two before they cut it." Tyler said as they made it further into the basement 

"So where is it?" Brendon asked "Right around the corner. To the right." Tyler said pointing at a dark empty room 

"This place is a dump." Brendon complained as he entered the room slightly hugging the wall looking for some sort of light switch

"Oh, shut up." Tyler scoffed as he followed behind Brendon "I want my goddamn drugs." Brendon shouted

"Then keep going." Tyler said before they entered another room which was smaller, Tyler turned the lights on behind Brendon as they were both met with Josh in the middle of the room in a white chair 

"So this is the cokehead" Josh asked staring at Brendon with a slight smirk 

"Who the hell are you?" Brendon asked 

"Get the lights." Josh said making Tyler turn the lights off, a few seconds later the lights started flickering violently 

"What is going on? What is going on?" Brendon shouted as Josh started laughing like a maniac as he violently started rocking back and forth in the chair 

"Come on, whore! Come on! Coke whore!" Josh growled in a deep voice as he tackled Brendon onto the ground and started wrestling him, Tyler soon as well started screaming as he saw whenever the lights flickered it would transfer from Josh being on top of Brendon from this short white monstrous thing with sharp teeth and bloody nails with small black eyes

"Get off of me. Get off! Get it off! Get it off me! Get it off!" Brendon shouted as Josh or the little demon looking thing threw punches and scratches 

"Stop!" Tyler shouted as he moved forward to go stop but was stopped when two strong arms were wrapped around his slim waist, now noticing it was Josh holding him back because all he saw attacking Brendon was the small demon creature 

"Mommy?" Brendon whispered out as the he made eye contact with the small thing before screaming in pain as it scratches him across the face, soon the lights turned back on and there was nothing in the room, Brendon got up and ran out of the basement

"Brendon, wait!" Tyler called out as Josh finally released his grip around Tyler's waist 

"I don't think he'll be bothering you anymore." Josh said to Tyler smiling 

"What was that?" Tyler asked sobbing in horror

"What? he kneed me in the balls and got away. he must have run into a wall or something." Josh said - 

"No, I saw something!" Tyler screamed as he backed away from Josh 

"Tyler, you're talking crazy. This is cool. We showed that fucker." Josh said getting closer to Tyler 

"Get out." Tyler shouted as he shoved Josh "I never want to see you again." He said before running upstairs himself leaving a shocked Josh in the basement staring at the floor a bit

"I thought you weren't afraid of anything!" Josh shouted.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Chris looked back noticing a brown mustang following behind him slowly making him jog a bit faster, the faster Chris jogged the faster the car went making Chris run into some dried bushes, the man parked the car and ran after Chris 

"Who are you? And why are you following me?" Chris asked seeking up behind the man noticing it was the man that was looking threw his Window 

"Your family is in danger." The man said out of breathe 

"What happened to you?" Chris asked as they both sat at a bench 

"Pretty, aren't I? It's over 70% of my body." The man said pointing at his burns "I'm Larry Harvey. And you have to get out of that house." The man said 

"I could have you arrested. Peeking in people's windows is still a crime. Even in L. A." Chris said

"They're not gonna put me back into jail. I have brain cancer. It's terminal, inoperable." The man said 

"I'm sorry." Chris said looking away 

"Don't be. That's the only reason they let me out. Homicide. Triple homicide. I was in that house for six months before I started hearing voices. My wife thought I was working too hard. My daughter Angie was six. The older one, Margaret, was 10. She looked like her mother. It's funny how it skips a generation like that. I killed them all. Lorraine was ill that night. She took a pill. She went to bed early, my wife. And then I, uh- I put the girls down. And then the voices started. They told me what to do. I was like an obedient child. I- I don't know how I put myself out. I remember that night, but it's like a dream. Have- Have you been sleepwalking?" The man or Larry said "Yeah. Look up my case. Read the transcript." Larry said 

"Listen to me. I'm a doctor. They may not put you back in jail but I can certainly have you committed to a state mental institution. And trust me, those places make prison look like Club Med. Leave my family alone. Do you hear me?" Chris said backing up a bit 

"Please. Please. Please. You have to get out of there! That place is evil." Larry pleaded grabbing Chris by the collar 

"Get off of me! Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" Chris shouted shoving the man away and ran.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hmm." Laura hummed as she opened Kelly's jewelry box and took out some diamond studs, she was currently in the couple's room without them knowing 

"Put those earrings back." A voice said startling Laura, she turned around to see Moira

"Jesus H. Christ. You almost gave me a heart attack." Laura said as she breathed in heavily

"Those belong to madam. This is her house, not yours." Moira said glaring at Laura 

"Why is it that it is always the old whore who acts the part of a moralistic prude? I'd be nervous if I were you too. When things go missing they always blame the new maid." Laura's said as she walked closer to Moira with the diamond studs still in her hands "I'd move if I were you." Laura said making Moira .I've a side so she can exit the room "Don't make me kill you again." Laura said looking at Moira for a bit before finally leaving.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hey." Kelly greeted Chris as she entered the house from the back door in the kitchen

"Hey." Chris greeted back as he sat at the island 

"What do you want for dinner?" Kelly asked Chris 

"Whatever you want." Chris said

"I think I want Indian food." Kelly said 

"You only like Indian food when you're pregnant."{{Un-edited}}

-1978-

A little girl stoof in front of an abandoned house,staring at it. Her small body flinched as glass shattered, she turned back seeing two boys with very similar features, twins. They were dragging bats behind them pushing each other.

"Hey, Troy. You're a dork." The twin in the striped green shirt said as he shoved his brother while they both entered the front gates of the abandoned home.

"Oh, shut up." Troy said as he shoved his brother back making the other laugh a bit "Hey, freak." Troy said to the little girl who stared at them as they made their way to the front door.

"Excuse me. You are going to die in there." The girl whispered loud enough for them to hear, she stood underneath a tree. 

"Shut your mouth or we're gonna kick your ass. We got bats." Bryan threatened as he swung the bat back and forth lightly before opening the door to go inside the house.

"I hate trees." Troy said as he swatted at some over grown branches that were in his way before entering the house after his brother.

"You're gonna regret it. You're gonna regret it. You're gonna regret it." The little girl repeated as she watched the boys enter the house.

The twins inspected the inside of the house looking at each other with a small grin before they started smashing everything made of glass near by. Soon separating from one another with one going upstairs and the other going into a different room, Bryan made his way downstairs smashing one last wall light before looking down the stairs noticing a dead animal of some sort.

"Troy!" Bryan called out for his brother as he maked his way down the stairs with the dead animal at his feet before his brother enterd the room.

"Awesome." Troy said inspecting the animal with a smirk, both of the boys looked to their left once they heared a slight creak watching as a door opened slightly "Go." Troy nudged his brother with his elbow.

"You go, shithead." Bryan said shoving his brother back. Troy went first,opening the door leading to the basement as they walked down the creaky stairs.

"Check it out." Troy said turning on his flashlight pointing it towards a shelf against the wall full of jars, both the twins got closer to the shelf spectating what was inside the jars soon feeling awfully disgusted finding out the jars contained human baby limbs and heads along with other dead animals, the troy picked up a jar containing a baby head smashing it against the floor startling the other brother "stinks in here." troy said as he walked along side his brother, exploring the dark basement.

"It stinks like shit." Bryan said, flashing his light around corners.

"Remember last summer when we got the raccoon stuck in our chimney? That's what it smells like." Troy said not noticing the small pitter patter of feet in the background while he was talking, neither did the other twin

"Let's go find it." Troy said.

"No, it smells bad. I'm getting out of here." Bryan said as he made his way upstairs soon stopping once he heard his brother's footsteps suddenly stop as well "Troy? Troy?" Bryan called out soon worried as he made his way back downstairs hearing a metal can roll across the floor "Who's down there?" He asked flashing his light in the room his brother entered "Cut it out, Troy. Cut it out." He said as he turned to his left to see his brother covered in blood with a shard of glass pierced in his throat, Troy was having trouble breathing as he looked up at his brother with fear in his eyes as he gurgled blood out of both his mouth and the slash on his neck, Bryan started to panic as he heard footsteps on his right, he quickly shined his light towards the noise soon being attacked.

-Today-

"So are your periods regular again?" The gynecologist asked Kelly as she sat on the examination table.

"Every other month. Not that I'm really complaining after all that blood. Chris hates blood." Kelly said.

"You having issues with arousal?" The doctor asked taking notes on a clipboard.

"Not when I'm by myself." Kelly giggling .

"Hmm. You can lie back." The doctor said as he put his clipboard out and grabbed some tools Kelly sat back and propped her legs up on some medal plates attached to the table she laid at "Well, I've recently had some success with women your age using bioidentical treatments and hormones." The doctor said as he started his examination.

"For what?" Kelly asked looking to her right staring at a sink.

"Well, it's sort of a preemptive strike. You see, your body is like a house. You can fix the tiles in the bathroom and the kitchen but if the foundation is decaying, well, you're wasting your time." The doctor leaned back and put the tools back on thr tray on his right before taking his gloves off.

"What are the side effects?" Kelly asked sitting up "Well, the B. H. R. T. 's are great for your skin, your organs. Most of the women I give these to tell me they make them feel 10 years younger." The doctor said grabbing his clipboard again.

"I don't know. I don't even let my family drink out of plastic bottles. Taking a bunch of hormones when I don't even know what the side effects are?"Kelly said sighing a bit "I'd just-" Kelly continued but was soon cut off by the doctor.

"Feel and look 10 years younger." The doctor reminded her.

"I don't need hormones, Doctor. I'm just trying to get control of my body again after what happened." Kelly said feeling a slight pain in her chest as she reminds herself of that incident.

"And I'm offering you something to help you get that back." The doctor said as he started writing a prescription for the hormones.

"I'm not a house." She whispered staring at the doctor.

"Kelly, what are you so afraid of?" The doctor asked handing her the prescription which she very carefully took into her hands.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

As Kelly entered the house she made her way into the kitchen setting some groceries down on the counter she got after leaving the gynecologist. She shook some snow off of her soon stopping once she heared a feminine groan, she quickly and quietly took her cell phone out and dialed the police.

"911." The operater said 

" I have an intruder in my house." Kelly whispered.

"You sure it's not a member of your family?" The operator asked. 

"No. Nobody is home."

"What's the address?" 

"35 Drumlin Road."

"We're sending a patrol car."

"Please hurry. Please" Kelly placed her phone down on the counter before grabbing the nearest knife, she slowly made her way upstairs, turning left heading towards the noises which grew louder as she reached her bedroom door, she slowly opened it before slowly seeing her world crash Infront of her, she slowly started walking downstairs with knife still in hand.

"Oh, my God. Oh, Kells, no. No. No- Kells." Chris yelled at his wife as he ran out of the room naked grabbing her shoulder "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No. No- Ah!" Chris yelled as Kelly quickly spun around flinging the knife, cutting his left bicep.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

As the Joseph's drove forward they finally reached a sign saying 'Welcome To Los Angel's'

"The light is different out here. It's softer." Kelly said looking around the freeway putting her sunglasses on her head.

"It's called smog." Tyler said from the back seat.

"You should be excited, Kells." Chris chimed to his wife who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat as he looked in the rearview mirror back at their son "You can stop sneaking cigarettes and just start taking deep breaths." Chris joked making Tyler smile slightly as he soon took his own sunglasses off placing them in his hoodies pocket.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Tyler said crossing his arms.

"We're almost there." Chris said gripping the wheel tighter.

"I need to go." Tyler whined.

"Ty, it's a freeway. Really. Where do you want me to pull over? Maybe the Honda next to us has a bathroom or something." Chris pointed to the white car next to them.

"Bet if baby substitute had to shit, you'd find somewhere." Tyler said looking at their small Pomeranian dog who was seated in a carrier bag on his right.

"Really, Tyler? I hate that word unless I'm saying it." Kelly sighed making Tyler smirk.

"You know, I'm really glad we named you Tyler instead of our second choice." Chris said.

"Which was?" Tyler asked raising and eyebrow.

"Sunshine. It's funny. Come on. You gotta admit it's funny." Chris said smiling as Kelly giggled and Tyler stared at his dad letting out a mocking laugh, Chris chuckled before taking his wife's hand into his own. Kelly pulled her hand away making the smile on both his and her face fade as they drove in awkward silence.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

" I love it. Don't you love it, hon?" Chris said looking around the property as the stood on the front porch while Kelly nodded as she hugged their dog.

"I mean, it looks even better than it did online." Kelly said stroking the small dogs head.

"Yeah, it's- It's interesting." Chris said as he looked at Tyler.

"Great. So we're the Addams Family now." Tyler sighed as he looked up at the house.

"Hey! Crabby pants! Come here." Chris motioned to Tyler to join them at the porch sticking his arm out.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asked his dad as he walked closer to them before being pulled into a side hug by his dad.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Chris asked his son who he was smothering.

"Hmm." Tyler hummed as his dad finally let go of him and knocked on the front door.

"Welcome." A lady, the salesperson greeted them with a smile as she moved aside to let the family come inside, closing the door behind them. "It's a classic L. A. Victorian built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars at the time. It's just fabulous. These are real Tiffany fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners really loved this place like a child. They restored everything." The lady said as they made their way around the house.

"Gay?" Kelly asked as she continued to pet her dog, playing with her fur ad she looked around.

"What do you think?" The saleslady said making their way to the kitchen.

"Wow." Kelly awed as she put the Pomeranian down letting it run off to an unknown part of the house as she looked around.

"Do you cook?" The lady asked Kelly.

"Kells is a great cook. I got her cooking lessons a few years ago and she ended up teaching the teacher a few things. Cooking lessons." Chris said with a small smile answering for his clearly distracted wife.

"Romantic. Aren't you a psychologist?" The saleslady asked Chris.

"Psychiatrist. You said something on the phone about there being a study that I could use as a home office? I'm planning on seeing patients here so I can spend more time with the family." Chris said.

"How refreshing." The lady smiled at him. the dog started barking.

"Tyler, honey, would you go see where Hallie went? Thank you." Kelly asked her son before going back to looking around the kitchen.

Tyler huffed and followed the dogs barking finding her barking at a door "What are you yapping at?" Tyler asked the dog as he looked at the door making his way towards it shooing the dog away before struggling to open the door. finally opening it, he looked at the flights of stairs figuring it lead to the basement as he slowly walked downstairs and stopped halfway looking around basement before getting bored and making his way back upstairs shutting the door and picking up the dog, he made his way to where his parents and saleslady were.

"When I saw the pictures of this room online I thought maybe you could use it as your music room." Chris said to his wife as they entered another room.

"Are you a musician?" The lady asked Kelly.

"I was. Cellist." She answered examining the room.

"Very good one, in fact." Chris said.

"Why did you quit?" The lady asked.

"This wallpaper is peeling over here. Looks like maybe there's a mural underneath it." Kelly said as she peeled back some old floral wallpaper ignoring the lady's question.

"The last owners probably covered it up. They were modernists. Speaking of the last owners full disclosure requires that I tell you about what happened to them." The lady said making her smile slightly fade.

"Oh, God. They didn't die in here or anything, did they?" Kelly joked.

"Yes, actually. Both of them. Murder-suicide. I sold them the house too. They were just the sweetest couple. You never know, I guess." The lady said making Kelly shut down a bit "That explains why it's half the price of every other house in the neighborhood, I guess. I do have a very nice mid-century ranch, but it's in the Valley and you're going to get a third of the house for twice the price." The sales lady said.

"Great." Chris huffed "Where'd it happen?" Tyler asked a bit too excited as he stroked the dogs fur.

"The basement." The lady answered slightly startled at the teens excitement.

"We'll take it." Tyler smirked as he continued to pet the dog.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Come on, baby. Let's go to bed. Leave that for the morning." Chris said to his wife who was had two full body mirrors in both of her hands as he walked into their new bedroom.

"I'm a little bit worried about Tyler. You know? These kids here are very different. I don't know if he can handle another year not fitting in." Kelly sighed as she put the mirrors down and turned to face Chris who sat on the left side of the bed right Infront of her.

"You mean you can't?" Chris said smirking.

"I can't believe this place doesn't freak you out a little because of what happened here." Kelly said sighing once again.

"My repulsion is tempered by the fact that this house is worth four times what we paid for it. So, let's not think about it." Chris said.

"This is your professional advice, Doctor? Just denial?" Kelly asked as she placed a small bottle of oil on the night stand next to their bed.

"Come on. Let me give you a little love." Chris said taking the bottle of oil and squirting some on his hand before rubbing them together to warm the oil up "Moving here, buying this house was the exact right thing to do for us and our family. It's a good thing. And we deserve some good after all the shit we've been through." Chris whispered as he took Kelly's right arm and rubbed the oil up and down massaging her arm a bit before moving to her left as his hand went lower to her hand making his thumb graze over her wedding ring making her quickly pull her hand away and walk towards the room entrance.

"I-I've got some stuff I want to unpack down in the kitchen. I appreciate that you're trying. I'm trying too. Okay. It's just gonna take some time." Kelly said to Chris before finally leaving to the kitchen.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Tyler made his way to his class, he took a drag out of a cigarette he lit a minute ago which was almost gone as he continued walking as other students stared at him

"So I let him." A boy said to his two friends, one being shortest wearing a fedora the other being slightly taller then both with light brown hair, quickly catching a whiff of the toxic smoke.

"Do coke off your nipples?" One of his friends asked.

"They were numb for, like, two days." The boy said as he stared at Tyler and slowly made his way towards him "Hey! Student council passed a rule against smoking in public spaces." The boy said as he stepped Infront of Tyler making Tyler jump a bit 

"Secondhand smoke kills." Another boy said as he stood next to the boy with an oddly large forehead.

"I'm new. I didn't know." Tyler said quietly as he dropped the cigarette about to stomp on it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? People sit here. They eat here." The boy with the large forehead said as he picked the almost gone cigarette off the floor.

"You don't know me. Why are you doing this?" Tyler said glaring at the boys.

"Brendon's grandmother died of lung cancer. he takes this stuff pretty seriously." The shortest boy said.

"Eat it. Eat it or I'm gonna kick the shit out of you" brendon said.

"No." Tyler said backing up a bit scrunching his face up in disgust

"Come on, Brendon. That's enough."

"No, no, no. I want to see him eat it. Yes! Eat it!" Brendon shouted grabbing Tyler's neck pulling the cigarette closer to his mouth as he struggled to get away.

"Brendon, seriously, he's, like, 12." The shortest friend said before Tyler finally spat in his face making Brendon quickly release him and wipe his face.

"You are dead! You are dead!" Brendon yelled as he furiously wiped his cheek making Tyler look back smiling as he grabbed his red beanie before it fell off his head and continued running.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly scraped at the wallpaper in the living room and threw the pieces in a trash can near her.

"You're gonna die in here." A female voice said startling Kelly making her Yelp a bit as she turned around quickly facing a girl across the room.

"Who are you? What are you doing? What are you doing here?" Kelly asked the girl who stared at her.

"Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. I put on Dora the Explorer for you, so you would sit and watch it." Another female voice was heard as a much older women stepped in going towards the other girl.

"It was Go, Diego, Go. I don't like it." The girl whined a bit.

"Oh, brown cartoon characters. You can't tell the difference." The older women said.

"Excuse me." Kelly said as she had enough watching these two strangers argue in her house 

"Hi. Hi. I'm Laura Dun , your neighbor from next door and this is my girl, Abigail." The lady greeted as she wrapped her arm around Abigail's shoulders.

"Hello." Abigail greeted.

"Go home, Abby. Now." Laura said as she lightly pushed Abigail to the front door "That girl is a monster. I love her, and I'm a good Christian but Jesus H. Christ if they'd invented some of those tests a few years ago, I would have-" Laura rambled before being cut off by a still slightly scared Kelly.

"How did you get into my house?" Kelly asked.

"You left your back door open. Although I have to tell you, Abby will always find a way in. She has a bug up her ass about this house. Always has." Laura said as she placed the box that she had on her hand down as she looked at the fine china on display in the living room "You have the loveliest things." Laura said as she continued looking around.

"Thank you." Kelly said as she placed her scraper tool down on a small table.

"Have you got a dog?" Laura asked as she turned to face Kelly.

"I-I do have a dog, yes." Kelly stuttered nervously as Laura walked closer to her.

"I run a little kennel out of my house. Doggy day care kind of a thing and How nice. Well, I prefer purebreds. I adore the beauty of a long line but there's always room in my home for mongrels." She said as she was now face to face with Kelly "Oh. Oh, my. Look at those earrings. Are those real diamonds? Not that home-shopping shit" Laura asked as she looked at the diamond studs on Kelly's ears.

"Yea" Kelly replied.

"I used to have diamonds like that. Different pair for every day of the week." Laura said "Did your husband give them to you?" Laura asked.

"He did." Kelly smiled a bit nervously.

"Mm-hmm. They always do when you're young and pretty." Laura said as she made her way back to looking around.

"Are you Southern?" Kelly asked as she noticed the faint accent in the lady's voice when she spoke.

"Proud Virginian. The Old Dominion, born and bred. Thank you for noticing. I came out here to be a movie star. Did the screen tests and everything. But nudity was the big deal then. The morals were just beginning to collapse and I wasn't about to have my green pasture flashed 70 feet high for every man, woman and child to see. So I took that little butterfly of a dream and put it in a jar on the shelf. And, uh, soon after came the mongoloid and, of course, I couldn't work after that." Laura said as she sat on a recliner facing Kelly.

"It has been so great to meet you. I just, you know- I wasn't prepared for guests at all." Kelly stuttered.

"I'm gone." Laura said as she stood up and made her way to the front door with Kelly following behind her "Oh, I brought you this. You know, a little, um, housewarming." Laura said as she grabbed the box she brought handing it to Kelly.

"Thank you." Kelly said smiling a bit looking down at the box.

"Addy wanted to bake you a pie but she tends to spit in the cooking so I thought this would be better. Help get rid of some of that bad juju."Laura said as she looked up at Kelly and smiled "I don't remember your name." 

"Right, no. I never got a chance to tell you my name. My name is Kelly Joseph." Kelly said.

"Anyway, relax and enjoy. Let me know if you need any help with that pup. Will do. I'm glad you're getting rid of that wallpaper. I thought those people were supposed to be stylish." Laura said as she continued to smile at Kelly as she opened the box slightly confused on what it was "It's sage for cleansing the spirits in the house. Too many bad memories in here." Laura said as she finally made her way out the house.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly took the lighter and lit the sage holding the lighter next to it slowly burning it putting the lighter down once she saw smoke from the sage and waved it around the hall soon stopping as she looked up seeing a small attic door, she reached up and opened it climbing the ladder leading up to the attic and studied the dark area, she finally made it all the way in and reached out grabbing onto what seemed to be a light switch pulling it down and light soon filling the room, Kelly looked up and screamed as she saw a leather suit suspended up from the ceiling.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Chris asked Kelly as he made his way up the attic stairs and looked up "Oh. I guess these guys were into the kinky stuff, huh?" Chris said chuckling a bit "Should I try it on?" Chris asked his wife smiling.

"That's not funny." Kelly said smiling as well.

"I think I'd look good in that." Chris said.

"What happened?" Tyler asked as he made his way up the ladder "Holy shit." Tyler whispered smiling as he saw the leather suit.

"Let's get rid of it." Kelly said.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs. Come on. Watch the stairs." Chris said pushing the memorized Tyler down the ladder.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"So, Josh, these fantasies started two years ago?" Chris asked Josh one of his newer patients as he sat across from the teen who sat crisscross on a couch.

"Two years ago. It's always the same. It starts the same way." Josh said in a low voice as he picked at the loose string on his ripped jeans looking around the office.

"How? Tell me." Chris said as he took out a notepad and a pen.

"I prepare for the noble war. I'm calm. I know the secret. I know what's coming, and I know no one can stop me, including myself." Josh said smiling a bit.

"Do you target people who have been mean to you or unkind?" Chris asked as he started blotting down this information on the notepad.

"I kill people I like. Some of them beg for their life. I don't feel sad. I don't feel anything. It's a filthy world we live in. It's a filthy, goddamn, helpless world. And, honestly, I feel like I'm helping to take them away from the shit and the piss and the vomit that run in the streets. I'm helping to take them somewhere clean and kind. There's something about all that blood, man. I drown in it. The Indians believed that blood holds all the bad spirits. Once a month in ceremonies, they would cut themselves to let the spirits go free. There's something smart about that. Very smart. I like that." Josh said as he looked at Chris who stared at Josh with slight amusement "You think I'm crazy?" Josh asked making his smile fade slightly.

"No. I think you're creative, and I think you have a lot of pain you're not dealing with." Chris said.

"My mother's probably worried about me, right?" Josh asked as he looked down at his crossed legs.

"I'm sure she is." Chris said.

"She's a cocksucker. I mean, literally a cocksucker. She used to suck the guy off next door all the time. My dad found out, and he left. He left me alone with a cocksucker. Can you imagine? How sick is that?" Josh said, his small smile soon returning.

"I've heard a lot worse." Chris said .

"Cool. Can you tell me some? I like stories." Josh asked sitting up a bit more.

"No. I can't." Chris said.

"The world is a filthy place. It's a filthy, goddamn, horror show. There's so much pain, you know? There's so much." Josh said as he leaned back as he watched Chris continue taking notes.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"You're doing it wrong." Josh said leaning against the bathroom door frame making Tyler jump as he looked up at the mirror looking at Josh in slight shock as he put the blade down the blood soaked sink from cutting his left wrist "If you're trying to kill yourself, cut vertically. They can't stitch that up." Josh said as he bit his lip looking at the smaller boy up and down smiling a bit liking what he saw very much.

"How'd you get in here?" Tyler asked as he held his wrist to prevent blood from going on the tiled floor.

"If you're trying to kill yourself, you might also try locking the door." Josh said finally closing the bathroom door as he left leaving a shocked Tyler staring at the mirror.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly took another white sheet out of the basket and hung it putting clips on the end to keep it from flying away, Kelly quickly turned around once she heard soft foot steps from behind her coming face to face with an older red headed women "May I help you?" Kelly asked.

"I'm Moira O'Hara. I'm the housekeeper." The lady said smiling sweetly at Kelly

"Oh. I didn't know the place came with a housekeeper." Kelly said smiling back.

"Why are you hanging your sheets? Perfectly good electric dryer inside." Moira said as she looked behind at all the sheets hung up.

"I don't like all those chemicals in the fabric softener so I just like to do it naturally." Kelly said looking back down at the basket with more sheets in it.

"I work Monday through Thursday. Thanksgiving on, Christmas off." Moira said bluntly "That was the deal with the last fellows." She said breaking the silence that lasted only a few seconds.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not sure that we're gonna need a housekeeper." Kelly said scratching the back of her neck .

"What have you been using to clean the floorboards?" Moira asked .

"Murphy's Oil Soap." Kelly said.

"Oh, no. White vinegar. Oil soap kills the wood." Moira said shaking her head.

"I like that better. It's more natural." Kelly said.

"Have you ever owned a house this old before?" Moira asked.

"No." Kelly said.

"It has a personality, feelings. Mistreat it and you'll regret it. May I come in? My cab's left, and I'd like to call another." Moira said.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"So you worked for the previous owners?" Kelly asked as she poured some tea in a cup for Moira handing the cup to the lady before pouring some for herself. They made it back inside the house. as she sat across from Moira at the kitchen island.

"I've been the housekeeper here for years. They come, they go. I stay. They were both nice boys, the ones before you. I found the bodies." Moira said taking the cup

"What happened? I mean, I hate to gossip." Kelly asked in a whisper.

"They fought a lot. Money, I think. But who can know when something so horrible happens? Sometimes people just go mad. I cleaned the mess. You'd never know." Moira said as she put some sugar into her tea and stirred it.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Kelly asked still whispering.

"Do you ever get tired of cleaning up other people's messes?" Kelly asked as she as well stirred her tea.

"We're women. It's what we do. I just get paid for it." Moira said as she took a sip of her tea, after a minute Chris walks in with a banana in hand.

"Oh, hey, this is my husband, Chris. Chris, this is Moira O'Hara. She was the housekeeper for the previous owner." Kelly said.

"Nice to meet you." Chris smiled but his smile soon dropped at the sight of the maid, he didn't see an old lady like Kelly did he say a very young sexy woman who smirked at Chris.

'That's my cab." She said in a low slightly seductive voice "I'll use the lavatory first if you don't mind." She asked Kelly looking like an old lady again.

"Sure." Kelly said as Moira walked off swaying her hips making Chris stair at her plump ass in that maid outfit. 

"What do you think?" Kelly asked Chris.

"Wait, you-you- you want to hire her?" He stuttered.

"Yeah. I mean, she's a little kooky, but she seems trustworthy. She knows the house really well, and I feel like I could just use the help." Kelly said turning to see Moira again "So, can you start tomorrow?" She asked.

"Thursday's better, but I'll make it work." Moira said as she put her coat on "Okay. And you know, Moira, you don't have to wear the housekeeper's uniform. You can just wear your own clothes." Kelly said as she noticed her maids outfit.

"I don't like cleaning people's houses in my own clothes." Moira said looking at Chris before walking away, Chris stared at his wife slightly shocked.

"What?" Kelly asked leaning against the island Infront of Chris.

"Nothing. Just- You just always surprise me." Chris said as he kissed his wife passionately needing something to forget the maid. making out with his wife worked as he focused on her only as he made his way down to her neck and started sucking on it, Kelly put her hands on Chris's chest and pushed him away "You're gonna have to forgive me one day." Chris said as he rested his forehead against Kelly's

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"You mind if I tape this?" Chris asked Josh as he grabbed a tape recorder and sat in his chair across Josh.

"No." Josh simply responded as he laid across the couch playing with his fingers.

"You taking your medications?" Chris asked.

"Yes." Josh responded still playing with his hands.

"Any side effects?" Chris asked.

"I was taking them at night, but they kept me up." Josh said looking up at the ceiling.

"What'd you do?" Chris asked.

"Started taking them in the morning." Josh said as he looked at Chris now 

"Light sensitivity is pretty common." Chris said.

"Maybe. Yeah, I think so." Josh smiled a bit 

"When I was in medical school, they brought in this C. I. A. interrogator to help us better identify who was lying. This guy was like 6'5, crew cut. He must have been one hell of an interrogator because I'll tell you somethin'- I'd be terrified to lie to him." Chris said smiling as well.

"You think I'm lying to you?" Josh asked as he stood up from laying on the couch.

"Light sensitivity isn't a side effect of Lexapro, Josh." Chris said.

"So you lied to me." Josh said as he walked to the rocking chair in the room and sat on it rocking back and forth a bit.

"What is important, if you're telling the truth about doing these things to your classmates if you are actually a danger to society the law says that I have to report you to the police." Chris said as he stood up and sat on the arm of a chair Infront of Josh.

"Did you call them?" Josh asked.

"Not yet. I've treated psychotics before and people with the right combination of chemical imbalance and psychological damage that can't be reached." Chris said.

"You think that's me? You think I can't get better?" Josh asked as he stopped rocking on the chair.

"You? Are you kidding me? You're hopeless." Chris said before bursting into laughter with Josh following along

"Everybody can get better, Josh. Everybody. I just think you're scared. Of what, I'm not sure yet. Maybe rejection, certainly because of what your father did to you." Chris said smiling at the boy.

"I was afraid my big dick wouldn't work." Josh finally admitted.

"What?" Chris asked "Yeah, that's why I didn't take the meds. I was afraid my dick wouldn't work. Because I met someone." Josh said. Looking behind Chris seeing tyler staring at them from the door

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"This one I did after my dad left. I was 10, I think." Josh said as he rolled up his sleeve showing Tyler the scars on his wrist.

"Last week, first day at my new school. Sucks." Tyler said showing some of his as well.

"Westfield, right? The worst. I got thrown out of there." Josh said as he stood up from his place Infront of Tyler on the floor in Tyler's bedroom and made his way to the built in chalk board.

"I hate it here. I hate everyone. All their bougie designer bullshit. East Coast was much cooler. I mean, at least we had weather." Tyler said as he stared at Josh.

"I love it when the leaves change." Josh said looking for something to write with.

"Yeah, me too." Tyler said smiling a bit.

"Why'd you move here?" Josh asked as he finally found some chalk and started writing the words TAINT on the board.

"My dad had an affair. My mom literally caught him in the act." Tyler said looking at his lap.

"That's horrible. If you love someone, you should never hurt them. Never." Josh said as he returned to his spot across from Tyler on the floor.

"Right? I know. And the worst part is that six months earlier my mom had, like, this brutal miscarriage. The baby was seven months old, and we had to have this macabre funeral. Have you ever seen a baby coffin?" Tyler said as he looked up to see Josh staring intensely at him, Tyler felt his cheeks flush and looked down "Why are you seeing my dad?" Tyler asked breaking the silence.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. You're smarter than that." Josh said as he continued staring at Tyler, Tyler got up and made his way to his mp3 player "Wanna listen to Morrisey? He's cool, and he's pissy, and he hates everyone and everything." He said

"Got any Kurt Cobain on that thing?" Josh asked smiling.

"What are you doing in here?" Chris asked barging into Tyler's room.

"Just listening to music, Dad." Tyler said as he sat on his bed.

"You need to leave, Josh. You shouldn't be in here. I think you know that. Please." Chris said sternly, Josh stood up and made his way to the door stopping next to Chris.

"What's that thing you think I'm afraid of? Fear of rejection?" Josh asked coldly as he finally left 

"Stay away from him." Chris said to Tyler 

"Dad, nothing-"

"You heard me!" Chris said making Tyler shut up.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hey, babe, you seen my razor blades?" Chris called out to his wife as he exits the bathroom shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Your family is in danger." A whisper said making Chris jump a bit and look outside the window seeing a man, he quickly put on a robe and ran outside going to confront that man but once he was out he was already gone.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly huffed as she put down her huge bag full of groceries on the kitchen island and started to unpack the things getting startled once she heard a giggle, she looked around jumping once she saw her fridge wide open, she followed the giggle to the living room surprised to see it was Abigail "What are you doing?" Kelly asked shocked as Abigail didn't answer and only continued to giggle "Why are you in my house? I want you to stay out of my house. Do you understand?" Kelly said to Abigail who was paying attention to Hallie the dog.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Can I smoke in here?" Laura asked taking a cigarette out of her purse plus a lighter.

"No. Abigail, answer me please." Kelly said still trying to get Abby to communicate.

"Can I pet your dog?" Abigail asked looking at Kelly for a bit before looking back at the now barking dog.

"No. Abigail, I want you to stay out of the house. I want you to stop coming in and opening things up and telling me I'm gonna die." Kelly said

"She said that?" Chris asked as he stood next to Kelly on the other side of the island from Abigail and her mom.

"She says that to everybody. Say you're sorry, Abby." Laura said laughing a bit.

"No. They did it." Abigail said now looking at her mother.

"Who did it?" Kelly asked in confusion 

"The twins." Abigail said now looking at Kelly

"Shh." Laura shushed Abby

"Can I pet your dog?" Abigail asked again looking at the dog who continued barking

"No. Abigail, listen to me. I want you to stop coming in here without permission. Am I clear?" Kelly said to Abigail as she squished the girls cheeks in both hands together making Abby make eye contact with her "Kelly." Chris said grabbing her shoulder tugging it a bit

"Am I clear?" Kelly asked one more time

"Yes." Abby said "Thank you."Kelly said as she let go of Abby's face

"Time to go, Abby." Laura said standing up along side with Abby, Abigail bent down and tried touching the growling dog who bit her once her hand reached its head making her jump back a bit

"Hallie! Are you okay?" Kelly asked 

"She shouldn't have done that." Abigail said before rushing towards the door leaving.

"Sorry about all this......You touch my kid one more time and I will break your goddamn arm." Laura said as she soon left as well leaving both Chris and Kelly shocked in the kitchen.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"No, I have no evidence of any past violence. No, I don't have his Social. Listen, do not transfer me again. I'm trying to report a patient of high school age that I believe could be dangerous. Yes. Yes, I'll hold."Chris groaned as he hung up the phone as he sat down on the couch in his office "Unbelievable." Chris huffed as he ran his hand Through his hair

"May I clean in here?" A voice interrupted Chris from his thoughts looking up to see Moira.

"It's not a good time, Moira." Chris said.

"It's Thursday. I get off in 20 minutes. If I don't do it now, it's not getting done until Monday." Moira said as she took out a duster and started dusting his book shelf "Am I distracting you?" Moira asked Chris as she made her way towards him "Why don't you touch me a little?" She said as she unbuttoned her blouse showing Chris her breast that were covered with a black lacy bra

"Get out." Chris said feeling his pants tighten.

"What are you afraid of? Your wife's not home. She's probably at Pilates. I won't tell. I didn't tell when you saw me playing with myself the other day." Moira said as she sat in Chris's lap.

"Please just go." Chris said gripping the couch arms

"Did you touch yourself after?" Moira asked wrapping her arms around Chris's neck pulling him closer.

"Please just go." Chris said more frustrated then before.

"You did. Do it again. Show me." Moira said as she slowly grinding down on Chris's crotch but a small creaking sound stopped both of them making them turn round to see a shocked Tyler standing in the door way

"Shit! Tyler." Chris said pushing Moira off of him as Tyler ran upstairs as fast as he could "Tyler! Damn it!" Chris shouted punching a wall near him making a dent.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"I'm not scared of you!" Tyler shouted as he was pinned down on a lunch table by Brendon 

"You should be!" Brendon shouted back slapping Tyler across the face "

"Get off. Get off!" Tyler yellee as he threw a lunch bag at Brendon who now pinned him down on the cafeteria floor as the other students surrounded the, shouting! Over and over again, Tyler reached out towards the cigarette he was smoking earlier which caused the fight and twisted the end on Brendon's hand making him quickly release Tyler who ran away 

"he freaking burned me!" Brendon shouted as he watched Tyler run away.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Kelly continued scraping the wallpaper that she now knew was covering some paintings

"My professional opinion? Whoever painted this wall had some deep psychological issues." Chris said making Kelly turn to look at him as he entered the room

"I thought you had a patient." Kelly asked

"Ah, they bailed. Do you want some help cleaning up?" Chris asked 

"Yeah. Thanks." Kelly said smiling a bit handing an extra scraper to Chris 

"This thing doesn't tweak you out?" Chris asked as he started to scrape some wallpaper of another painting 

"There's something about it that I find weirdly comforting." Kelly shrugged 

"One of my psych professors told me that people tell stories that cope with their fears. All art and myths are just creations to give us some sense of control over the things we're scared of. Afraid of dying? Create reincarnation. Afraid of evil? Create a benevolent God who sends evildoers to hell." Chris stated looking over at a lost Kelly

"I think I just like that I don't have to think while I do it." Kelly said as she stared at the paintings 

"Okay." Chris laughed as he stared at his wife who continued scraping "I always thought you were prettiest like this. No makeup, messy hair, a little sweaty." Chris said smiling at her 

"I'm old. Stop." Kelly sighed as she turned to look at Chris

"You're beautiful. You are. You know that?" Chris continued as he made his way over to Kelly pulling her body closer to his "Tyler won't be home for an hour." Chris said as he bent down to kiss Kelly on the lipsb

"No. Chris." Kelly said moving her head away from Chris 

"Come on, babe." Chris said 

"No. Sorry. I'm just not-" Kelly said but was cut off by her own sigh

"How long, Kells? How long are you gonna punish me for?" Chris asked as he walked to the other side of the room knocking over the little table full of tools kelly was using to scrape 

"I'm not punishing you, you narcissistic asshole. I'm trying to figure out how to forgive you for having sex with one of your students. You want me to have sex with you? I can't even look at your face, Chris without seeing the expression on it while you were pile-driving her in our bed!" Kelly said dropping her tool on the floor

"I screwed up! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? I was hurting too!" Chris shouted 

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Did- Did the life that was growing inside you die and did you have to carry that around in your belly? The dead corpse of our baby daughter? Did you have to go into labor and deliver our child, dead?" Kelly shouted back 

"My daughter died too! My baby died too!" Chris continued 

"And you buried your sorrow in some 21-year-old's pussy." Kelly said feeling her eyes water a bit

"You know, I could show you statistics on how many men cheat after a miscarriage. I was there for you, Kells. I was patient and understanding and caring, and I put your feelings first." Chris said running his hand threw his hair frustrated 

"My hero." Kelly said before looking away "I don't even know how to say this without coming off like an asshole." Chris sighed as he noticed his wife started crying 

"You know what? Just go ahead. Really. Never stopped you before. You're so angry. Why don't you really tell it like it is? Six months of therapy with you apologizing and crying was bullshit. So, please, tell me how you really feel." Kelly said looking back at Chris's face

"You got a dog. I needed you, and you got a dog. It was me you should've been curling up with at night. Not a dog! I needed you." Chris finally stated

"You needed me? So she was revenge because you needed me? Because I wasn't there for you in your time of need? Now I get it." Kelly said sighing 

"We haven't had sex in almost a year." Chris said with a now calm voice 

"Yeah. You think I don't know that?" Kelly said in the same toned voice

"October 20th. We had great sex, Kells. It was loving and sexy and personal and even a little- even a little weird. I love you. I moved across country for you because in all my life the only thing I've been truly scared of is losing you losing this family. Something horrible happened to us and we handled it even more horribly. But this- this place is our second chance, Kells. It's our second chance. But I just- I just need to know that you want it too. Tell me I-" Chris was caught off by a now fully crying Kelly shoving him hard "What are you doing? Kells. Kells, stop it. What are you doing? No." Chris said as Kelly continued shoving him before he grabbed the back of her head making her look up crashing their lips together into a long passionate kiss.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Here you go, Hallie. Good girl. Good girl." Kelly said as she out some water down for her dog who immediately started drinking "Hey." Kelly greeted Tyler who came downstairs who grabbed an apple, turning around making Kelly notice the bruise on his left temple from when Brendon punched him 

"Whoa. Come here. What happened to your face?" Kelly said pointing at a stool at the island making Tyler sit as she went to go grab a first aid kit

"Fell down." Tyler simply answered with a bored impression 

"Come here." Kelly said as she sat in front of Tyler opening the first aid kit 

"Boy or girl?" Kelly asked as she took out a wet wipes "Boys. Three of them. Hope they look worse than you do. Do you know their names?"Kelly asked as she started to clean some dry blood on his face

"I'm not narcing." Tyler simply said 

"You know, we can easily move you to a different school. There are a lot of really good private schools right in this neighborhood." Kelly said as she finished cleaning the blood off his bruise

"I'm not running away. I'm not scared of them." Tyler said looking at his mother in the eyes now

"Not afraid of anything. It's like that time in kindergarten when you insisted that I bring you home from the slumber party 'cause all the other boys were sleeping with the night light on. I know you've gotten the short end of the stick lately. This move and your dad and I haven't exactly been great to be around." Kelly said as she threw the wet wipes away and put the first aid kit away 

"Why don't you guys get divorced if you're so miserable?" Tyler asked as he slouched in his seat a bit 

"We still love each other." Kelly said as she sat back down Infront of Tyler 

"You could have fooled me. I thought you hated each other. Well, at least you hated him. I don't blame you. He was a shithead." Tyler said looking at his mother's face that now showed disappointment "Sorry." He apologized looking away 

"It's okay. He was a shithead." Kelly said smiling at Tyler who returned the smile "You know, we've got a lot of history. Your dad's been through a lot. I've been through a lot. Guess we need each other. "

What are you scared of? You said I'm not scared of anything. So what scares you?" Tyler asked as he sat up a bit

"Lately? Everything. Life will do that to you." Kelly said as she looked at Tyler.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"I hate him. I just want to kill him." Tyler ranted as he paced back and forth 

"Then do it. One less high school dick making the lives of the less fortunate more tolerable is in my opinion, a public service. You want him to leave you alone? Stop making your life a living hell? Short of killing him, there's only one solution. Scare him. Make him afraid of you. That's the only thing bullies react to." Josh said as he sat back in a chair watching Tyler in amusement, currently they were in Tyler's dad's office

"How?" Tyler asked as he continued pacing back and forth

"It's simple. You simply walk up to her and say "Here's the deal. I need you to stop harassing me. I got what you want, drugs. Come to my house tomorrow for your free sample. I'm a dealer and a good one. I got the best shit in town." Josh said restating something for Tyler to say 

"He's a cokehead. I don't have coke." Tyler said still pacing

"You won't need any. It's just an excuse to get her here. After that, he'll leave empty-handed and terrified and I promise you, you'll never be bothered by him again." Josh said 

"How am I gonna terrify him?" Tyler asked as he stopped pacing and finally looked at Josh 

"That's where I come in." Josh said smirking up at Tyler.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"What's down there?" Brendon asked as Tyler turned the lights on in his basement as they walked down the stairs 

"My stash. Parents toss my room every week." Tyler said

"If you're screwing with me" Brendon said stopping in his tracks looking around the basement. 

"I found the best hiding place. This is great shit too. A lot of the coke coming into the U. S. from Central America is smuggled in on lobster boats from Gloucester. Used to show my dick to the lobstermen in return for a key or two before they cut it." Tyler said as they made it further into the basement 

"So where is it?" Brendon asked "Right around the corner. To the right." Tyler said pointing at a dark empty room 

"This place is a dump." Brendon complained as he entered the room slightly hugging the wall looking for some sort of light switch

"Oh, shut up." Tyler scoffed as he followed behind Brendon "I want my goddamn drugs." Brendon shouted

"Then keep going." Tyler said before they entered another room which was smaller, Tyler turned the lights on behind Brendon as they were both met with Josh in the middle of the room in a white chair 

"So this is the cokehead" Josh asked staring at Brendon with a slight smirk 

"Who the hell are you?" Brendon asked 

"Get the lights." Josh said making Tyler turn the lights off, a few seconds later the lights started flickering violently 

"What is going on? What is going on?" Brendon shouted as Josh started laughing like a maniac as he violently started rocking back and forth in the chair 

"Come on, whore! Come on! Coke whore!" Josh growled in a deep voice as he tackled Brendon onto the ground and started wrestling him, Tyler soon as well started screaming as he saw whenever the lights flickered it would transfer from Josh being on top of Brendon from this short white monstrous thing with sharp teeth and bloody nails with small black eyes

"Get off of me. Get off! Get it off! Get it off me! Get it off!" Brendon shouted as Josh or the little demon looking thing threw punches and scratches 

"Stop!" Tyler shouted as he moved forward to go stop but was stopped when two strong arms were wrapped around his slim waist, now noticing it was Josh holding him back because all he saw attacking Brendon was the small demon creature 

"Mommy?" Brendon whispered out as the he made eye contact with the small thing before screaming in pain as it scratches him across the face, soon the lights turned back on and there was nothing in the room, Brendon got up and ran out of the basement

"Brendon, wait!" Tyler called out as Josh finally released his grip around Tyler's waist 

"I don't think he'll be bothering you anymore." Josh said to Tyler smiling 

"What was that?" Tyler asked sobbing in horror

"What? he kneed me in the balls and got away. he must have run into a wall or something." Josh said - 

"No, I saw something!" Tyler screamed as he backed away from Josh 

"Tyler, you're talking crazy. This is cool. We showed that fucker." Josh said getting closer to Tyler 

"Get out." Tyler shouted as he shoved Josh "I never want to see you again." He said before running upstairs himself leaving a shocked Josh in the basement staring at the floor a bit

"I thought you weren't afraid of anything!" Josh shouted.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

Chris looked back noticing a brown mustang following behind him slowly making him jog a bit faster, the faster Chris jogged the faster the car went making Chris run into some dried bushes, the man parked the car and ran after Chris 

"Who are you? And why are you following me?" Chris asked seeking up behind the man noticing it was the man that was looking threw his Window 

"Your family is in danger." The man said out of breathe 

"What happened to you?" Chris asked as they both sat at a bench 

"Pretty, aren't I? It's over 70% of my body." The man said pointing at his burns "I'm Larry Harvey. And you have to get out of that house." The man said 

"I could have you arrested. Peeking in people's windows is still a crime. Even in L. A." Chris said

"They're not gonna put me back into jail. I have brain cancer. It's terminal, inoperable." The man said 

"I'm sorry." Chris said looking away 

"Don't be. That's the only reason they let me out. Homicide. Triple homicide. I was in that house for six months before I started hearing voices. My wife thought I was working too hard. My daughter Angie was six. The older one, Margaret, was 10. She looked like her mother. It's funny how it skips a generation like that. I killed them all. Lorraine was ill that night. She took a pill. She went to bed early, my wife. And then I, uh- I put the girls down. And then the voices started. They told me what to do. I was like an obedient child. I- I don't know how I put myself out. I remember that night, but it's like a dream. Have- Have you been sleepwalking?" The man or Larry said "Yeah. Look up my case. Read the transcript." Larry said 

"Listen to me. I'm a doctor. They may not put you back in jail but I can certainly have you committed to a state mental institution. And trust me, those places make prison look like Club Med. Leave my family alone. Do you hear me?" Chris said backing up a bit 

"Please. Please. Please. You have to get out of there! That place is evil." Larry pleaded grabbing Chris by the collar 

"Get off of me! Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" Chris shouted shoving the man away and ran.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hmm." Laura hummed as she opened Kelly's jewelry box and took out some diamond studs, she was currently in the couple's room without them knowing 

"Put those earrings back." A voice said startling Laura, she turned around to see Moira

"Jesus H. Christ. You almost gave me a heart attack." Laura said as she breathed in heavily

"Those belong to madam. This is her house, not yours." Moira said glaring at Laura 

"Why is it that it is always the old whore who acts the part of a moralistic prude? I'd be nervous if I were you too. When things go missing they always blame the new maid." Laura's said as she walked closer to Moira with the diamond studs still in her hands "I'd move if I were you." Laura said making Moira .I've a side so she can exit the room "Don't make me kill you again." Laura said looking at Moira for a bit before finally leaving.

꒷꒦꒷꒦ 𖤐 ✞ 𖤐꒷꒦꒷꒦

"Hey." Kelly greeted Chris as she entered the house from the back door in the kitchen

"Hey." Chris greeted back as he sat at the island 

"What do you want for dinner?" Kelly asked Chris 

"Whatever you want." Chris said

"I think I want Indian food." Kelly said 

"You only like Indian food when you're pregnant." Chris chuckled lightly looking up at his wife who smiled at him "Really?" Chris asked in disbelief as Kelly nodded, he made his way towards her and pulled her in for a kiss hugging her tightly as well. 

Chris chuckled lightly looking up at his wife who smiled at him "Really?" Chris asked in disbelief as Kelly nodded, he made his way towards her and pulled her in for a kiss hugging her tightly as well. 

said

"I think I want Indian food." Kelly said 

"You only like Indian food when you're pregnant." Chris chuckled lightly looking up at his wife who smiled at him "Really?" Chris asked in disbelief as Kelly nodded, he made his way towards her and pulled her in for a kiss hugging her tightly as well.


End file.
